by Fassil G. Kiros

Format: paperback, 6"x9"; Illustrations

ISBN: 1-59907-002-2

About the Book:

When in 2002/03 Ethiopia was ushered into the twenty-first century by the threat of famine of unprecedented proportion, it stirred a deeply felt reaction to call on policy-makers and ordinary citizens to raise arms against a scourge which has afflicted their country throughout its long history. The announcement of the threat of famine amounted to a virtual acknowledgement that the country’s past national development goal has been little more than a pipe dream. For, no claim of development can be made in the face of the prospect of mass starvation.

It is proposed that a new start is needed in Ethiopia in the pursuit of the goal of lasting food security and the prevention of recurrent famine, one which can at times put to question the conventional development wisdom, and calls for a commitment to certain key principles which can help prevent the repetition of past failures while at the same time providing the foundation for future progress. It is argued that lasting food security can only be achieved by means of an interactive development process involving the sustainable development of agriculture and an increasingly diversified national economy. In concluding, the main questions which may likely concern many people are addressed directly. Wherefrom are the investment resources to be obtained, and where the capacities are to be summoned to promote the scale and tempo of the development envisaged? Examples are offered of the types of measures which could be considered in response to the future development challenges. Ultimately, both the ends of development and the means by which they might be attained must derive impetus from the cravings and drive for accomplishment of ordinary people acting individually or collectively in the pursuit of their common interests. The primary instrument for unleashing this potential belongs to the political realm.

About the Author:

Fassil G. Kiros is an economist who has dedicated the major part of his career to teaching and research at the Addis Ababa University. He has also served as Vice-President of the University and as A/Dean of the College of Business Administration. He has been appointed as visiting scholar and lectured at a number of the major universities in the U.S. and in Africa, and has participated in numerous national and international scholarly forums.

Professor Fassil has also served for a number of years as a member of the Africa Committee of the U.S. Social Science Research Council. He has committed himself to research on the root causes of rural poverty and to advocating the cause of the rural poor in Ethiopia. As a founding member and the first Executive Secretary of the Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA), he has also promoted research on the multi-faceted problems of poverty and underdevelopment in Africa at large.