ABSTRACT

Ethiopia’s agricultural development strategies bypassed smallholder mechanisation for decades. Mechanisation returned to the policy agenda in 2013 but recent pro-mechanisation rhetoric lacks operational commitments. Based on primary and secondary data, this paper traces the policies and policy narratives that have led to low mechanisation, and finds that mechanisation was deprioritised on the grounds that Ethiopia is labour- and land-abundant, but short of capital. With policy encouraging multiple cropping, but farming vulnerable to climate change, the paper argues for the development of a market for mechanisation, including mechanisation service provision through private and cooperative agents, to enhance smallholder access to mechanisation and unleash human energy.

摘要

几十年来，埃塞俄比亚的农业发展战略绕过了小农机械化。机械化在 2013 年重新回到政策议程，但最近的支持机械化的言论缺乏运营承诺。基于一手和二手数据，本文追溯了导致机械化低的政策和政策叙述，并发现由于埃塞俄比亚劳动力和土地丰富，但资金短缺，机械化被优先考虑。由于政策鼓励复种，但农业易受气候变化的影响，本文主张发展机械化市场，包括通过私人和合作代理提供机械化服务，以提高小农获得机械化的机会并释放人力。