Overview
Agriculture is the backbone of Ethiopia’s economy and the livelihoods of the most vulnerable populations. Increased growth is essential to realize the interconnected goals of food security, poverty reduction, and human and economic development. To support this growth, the Government of Ethiopia established the ATA to serve as a catalyst for transformation and sustainable change. Ethiopia is a country of natural contrasts, with waterfalls and volcanic hot spring, dry desert lands and rich fertile soil. Agriculture is the foundation of the Ethiopian economy. It contributes approximately 46 percent to the national GDP and employs over 80 percent of the population. In 2009, Ethiopia was in the final year of its five year Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP) and beginning to design its next five year plan the first Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP). It had also begun a rapid growth period with major gains in its agriculture sector. In the midst of these development, the late Prime Minister Meles had a fortuitous meeting with Melinda Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation where he asked for the Foundations support in identifying an innovative way to catalyze not only the growth but of the transformation of Ethiopians agriculture sector. This began a journey of nearly two years, where the Gates Foundation facilitated a process led by the Ministry of Agriculture that developed eight different diagnostic and a series of recommendations. The summary conclusions identified two key challenges to transforming Ethiopia’s agricultural sector.