Agricultural Transformation in Ethiopia

"Agricultural Transformation in Ethiopia: State Policy and Smallholder Farming" (2018) edited by Atakilte Beyene is an excellent book on diverse components of the agricultural sector. Given the importance of agriculture in Ethiopia, this is an important addition as there are few books that cover the sector comprehensively (several are available that cover specific components). The introduction by Atakilte is an excellent overview, and is well worth reading as a stand-alone chapter.

Many of the chapters were authored by faculty at Bahir Dar University, are well written and well researched. Some edited volumes are a collection of only lightly unrelated chapters, but this is a cohesive volume and highly recommended as a resource for readers interested in the topic. The chapters cover: input supply and marketing systems (Ch. 1), investment in agricultural sector (Ch. 2), large scale irrigation (Ch. 3), climate resilient practices (Ch. 4), sociocultural perspective (Ch. 5), a history of malaria (Ch. 6), gender and rights (Ch. 7) and rural transformation through land rights (Ch. 8). Many chapters rely upon CSA data, and could have been more critical of that.