Agriculture plays a decisive role and constitutes the largest share in the economy of Ethiopia, representing nearly 50% of the Gross Domestic Product and 60% of export earnings. It also provides employment for around 85% of the population. Just over half of Ethiopia’s 64 million rural population live in poverty.

Agriculture in Ethiopia is mainly dependent on natural rainfall which is highly variable both temporally and spatially.

Agriculture is dominated by smallholder farmers operating on significantly small land holdings. About 65% of the farmers depend on land sizes of less than 1 ha and about 40% on land holding sizes of 0.5 ha or less. Agriculture is generally characterized by subsistence nature; however agricultural production has experienced considerable boost during the past decade with the government’s efforts to improve agricultural productivity through various support and extension programs.

More than 90% of the crop production in Ethiopia is rainfed, depending on highly variable rainfall aggravated by the impacts of climate change. Rainfed farming generally causes significant yield losses due to rainfall failure during main growing seasons and occasional total crop failure in vulnerable areas. Furthermore, less than 20% of the irrigation potential of the country has been developed, and the irrigated land is only 7% of the total cultivated land. As such agricultural water management is given high priority in the national policies and development strategies of the country to ensure household food security and poverty reduction.