Letter to the Editor
Editorial
Department
RE:
Japanese Private Sector is Welcome to Participate in Agricultural Investment
in Ethiopia
Dear
Mr. /Ms. Editor,
I am writing to you in
reference to the article featured in your Newsletter on Sunday, the 4th of April 2010
with a headline “Japan, Please don’t go grabbing Ethiopian’s land”. Since the
content of the article distort facts and misinforms the readers of your
esteemed magazine, I thought I should react to the claims made by the writer
and straighten the facts.
While I do appreciate the
contribution made by Mr. Nicol as the first game
warden of the semien mountain national park, I found some of his remarks in the
article outrageous to say the least. Judging from the content of Mr. Nicol’s article, one can easily understand that he does not
have information about present day Ethiopia. He tries to negatively portray the
country with the image that he used to have some 40 years ago. This no doubt gives
a wrong impression to the readers of your magazine and tarnishes the image of
Ethiopia.
I would like to indicate that tremendous
change has taken place since Mr. Nicol claims to have
left Ethiopia. Particularly over the last two decades the country has charted a
new course in its history. It has ushered in a new political and economic
dispensation. Today, unlike 40 years ago, Ethiopia is peaceful and stable and
is governed by a democratic constitution crafted by the active participation of
its citizens. It is also trying to turn the corner against poverty thus
becoming one of the fastest growing non-oil producing economies in Africa. According
to forecasts by the Economist magazine, Ethiopia will be one of the five
fastest growing economies in the world in 2010. Therefore, this is the image of
the new Ethiopia and the days of chaos and internal strife, which Mr. Nicol alludes to in his article, have long gone. I would
like to invite Mr. Nicol to visit Ethiopia and see
for himself these monumental transformations.
There is no way of verifying some
of Mr. Nicol’s claims about certain incidents nor am
I interested in doing so but I found some of his expression in the article
demeaning to Ethiopians who are basically known for their gracious hospitality
and respect for foreigners. I certainly do not expect this kind of expression
from someone who claims to have deep respect for Ethiopians. I would also like
to proudly remind Mr. Nicol that it is gallant forces
from all Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia who defended the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of Ethiopia in unison from Italian invasion.
Having said this, Mr. /Ms. Editor,
I am sure you are well aware that since the food crisis in 2008, there is a
growing interest on agricultural investment particularly in Africa. This has
created a very good opportunity for countries like Ethiopia, which have vast
amount of arable land and favorable agro-climatic conditions to attract
investment in the agricultural sector. However, some media outlets have been
engaged in massive vilification campaign labeling this kind of investment as
“land grab” or “neo-colonialism”. Mr. Nicol also
subscribes to this same view as can be understood from his argument. I wish to underscore
that Ethiopia has never been colonized and neither would it succumb to any form
of neo-colonialism.
The negative media campaign is certainly counterproductive
to the efforts of countries like Ethiopia which are trying to attract much
needed investment in the agricultural sector. It is good to look at some of the
statistics to have a better understanding of the actual situation in the
agricultural sector in Ethiopia. Out of the total land area of the country
(111.5 million ha), 74.3 million hectare is believed to be suitable for crop
production. 45% (50.2 million ha) of the total land area is classified as highland
with high population density, while the remaining part of the country is
lowland which is sparsely populated. It should also be noted that out of the vast
arable land available in Ethiopia, only 15-18% of the land has so far been
utilized.
Of course, agriculture is the
backbone of the Ethiopian economy where 85% of our 76 million people are
engaged to sustain their livelihood. Although Ethiopia has abundant land and
labor resource, it does not have adequate capital to develop the agricultural
sector. Therefore, the Ethiopian government adopted a development strategy
which takes into account the country’s abundant land and labor resources to
spur economic growth. In this regard, massive effort has been exerted to
transform the small holder farming in Ethiopia from one of subsistence to
commercialization. Accordingly, remarkable results have been achieved in
raising agricultural productivity and the agricultural sector has been growing
in double digits over the last seven years.
This being noted, however, the
government has also made unutilized land in some parts of Ethiopia,
particularly in the lowlands, available for foreign investors who are
interested to develop it using their massive capital and technology. This is
done with a view to supplement the efforts made by the government to transform
small holder agriculture. This no doubt greatly contributes in increasing
agricultural production by introducing new technologies and capital. It also
creates ample employment opportunities, assists Ethiopia’s effort to attain
food security for its people and benefits the entire economy by generating
foreign currency earning.
It is true that Ethiopia has
attracted foreign investors interested to participate in the agricultural
sector in Ethiopia, which is of course a welcome development. The government
will continue to exert its efforts to attract more investors. The foreign
investors who are already engaged in the agricultural sector in the country are
not from a certain region only as Mr. Nicol alleged
in his article but come from different parts of the world attracted by the
investment-friendly climate. Ethiopia is an exemplary country and a symbol for
religious tolerance where people from all religious background and creed live
together harmoniously and the alarm bell that Mr. Nicol
tries to ring is not only unfounded but also malicious in its intent.
Furthermore, I wish to
underscore that there has not been any dislocation of farmers as a result of
agricultural investment by foreign companies since the government has so far been
allocating only unutilized land and some other land holdings by government
owned enterprises. Therefore, the concerns expressed by Mr. Nicol are simply unwarranted
and do not reflect the actual reality in Ethiopia. It is based on this fact
that I found his plea in the article for Japan not “to go grab Ethiopian’s
land” nonsensical.
It is needless to say that
Ethiopia and Japan enjoy excellent relations. Japan is indeed Ethiopia’s
reliable partner in its development endeavor and the agriculture sector is one
of the areas that Japan has been providing generous assistance in line with
Ethiopia’s development priorities and programmes.
The upsurge of both domestic
and foreign investment in Ethiopia over the last two decades attests to the fact
that there exists a favorable investment climate in the country. I wish to draw
the attention of the Japanese private sector to the ample investment
opportunities in the agricultural sector since Ethiopia is endowed with various
agro-climatic conditions suitable for commercial production of a wide range of
agricultural products. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to welcome
the private sector in Japan and call upon them to seriously consider the
possibility of investing in the agricultural sector in Ethiopia.
Sincerely,
Abdirashid Dulane
Ambassador of the Federal
Democratic
Republic of Ethiopia to Japan