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The Political Economy of Agricultural Extension Policy in Ethiopia: Economic Growth and Political Control
Author(s) -
Berhanu Kassahun,
Poulton Colin
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
development policy review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.671
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1467-7679
pISSN - 0950-6764
DOI - 10.1111/dpr.12082
Subject(s) - agriculture , politics , investment (military) , control (management) , extension (predicate logic) , agricultural productivity , economics , agricultural extension , production (economics) , agricultural policy , economic system , political economy , agricultural economics , economic policy , development economics , political science , geography , macroeconomics , management , archaeology , computer science , law , programming language
This article argues that, in Ethiopia, the aim to transform the performance of smallholder agricultural production is driven by the twin imperatives of economic growth and political control. The agricultural extension programme – the largest and fastest growing in the continent – has been central to this strategy, and the unparalleled investment in the extension system has been driven by these twin imperatives. However, there are tensions between the objectives of stimulating agricultural growth, on the one hand, and extensively penetrating society and winning elections, on the other, and these may reduce the returns to this investment. Implications are drawn for wider debates on the reform of agricultural extension.