Foreword

Ethiopia has recently experienced unprecedented economic growth. A large portion of this output growth is derived from the agricultural sector consistent with the country’s Agriculture Development-Led Industrialization (ADLI). Significant numbers of farmers are increasingly engaged in commercial agriculture and non-farm activities. Sustainable development of the country, therefore, hinges on the proliferation of such best practices over the wider national economic space. In pursuit of Ethiopia’s ambition to be a middle income country in the coming fifteen years, Ethiopian agriculture should transform itself and grow even faster. This high and sustained growth in agriculture forms the basis for industrialization and modernization of the Ethiopian economy.

Cognizant of this far-reaching importance, the Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI) undertook a study on “Consumption, Saving, and Investment Behaviors of Successful Farmers in Ethiopia”. The survey for the research covered 1,800 farm households in five regions, namely Amhara, Benishangul-Gumuz, Oromia, Southern Peoples, Nations and Nationalities, and Tigray. The study probed into income, saving, consumption, and investment behaviors of recognized successful farmers vis-à-vis other farmers. This report summarizes the findings of the study and outlines intervention areas that may be fostered across rural farm households for accelerated agriculture and rural development in particular and Ethiopia’s economic transformation in general. I hope this reading will add insights to our understanding of Ethiopia’s rural and agricultural development processes in the years ahead.

I seize this opportunity to thank all institutions that provided financial resources for the study, i.e. the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), the Think-Tank Initiative of the International Development Research Centre of Canada (TTI/IDRC), and the Ethiopia Strategy Support Program II of the International Food Policy Research Institute (ESSP II/IFPRI). Many thanks are also due to the researchers, viz. Alebel Bayrau, Guush Berhane, Gebrehiwot Ageba, Tassew Woldehanna, Paul Dorosh, Fanaye Tadesse, Bethelhem Koru, and Kibrom Tafere.

Newai Gebre-ab

Executive Director