Role of agricultural education in the development of agriculture in Ethiopia

395 Pages·2016·8.87 MB·English

Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and
Retrospective Theses and Dissertations
Dissertations
1957
Role of agricultural education in the development
of agriculture in Ethiopia
Dean Alexander Elliott
Iowa State College
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Recommended Citation
Elliott, Dean Alexander, "Role of agricultural education in the development of agriculture in Ethiopia " (1957).Retrospective Theses and
Dissertations. 1348.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/1348
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ROLE OP AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE IN ETHIOPIA
by
Dean Alexander Elliott
A Dissertation Submitted to the
Graduate Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of
The Requirements for the Degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Major Subject: Vocational Education
Approved
Signature was redacted for privacy.
Charge of Major Work
Signature was redacted for privacy.
Hea Ma^ctr^partrnent
Signature was redacted for privacy.
Dé ah of Graduate
Iowa State College
1957
il
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
INTRODUCTION 1
COUNTRY AND PEOPLE .... . . . . . 5
History 5
Geography 16
People 30
Government 38
Ethiopian Orthodox Church lj.6
Transportation and Communication pif.
NATIVE AGRICULTURE 63
Soils 71
Crops 85
Grassland and Pasture 109
Livestock 117
Land Tenure 135?
GENERAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION 162
Organization and Administration 165
Teacher Supply and Teacher Education 175
Schools and Colleges 181}.
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS EXCLUSIVE OF THOSE
IN SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES 211].
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation
Administration 211].
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation. . . 225
United States Technical Assistance 2lj.O
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN SCHOOLS
AND COLLEGES 273
Community Schools 273
Harer Teacher Training School 276
Ambo Agricultural School 279
Jima Agricultural Technical School 285
Imperial Ethiopian College of Agriculture
and Mechanical Arts 3lJi
Scholarship Program ^k-o
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT AND EXPANSION
OF AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION IN ETHIOPIA 3^9
Schools of General Education 3£l
Community Schools 3^2
Technical Assistance Activities Other than Those
Involving Schools and Colleges. 355
Agricultural Secondary Schools 3^5
ill
Page
College of Agriculture 357
Research 358
Extension 359
Scholarships 360
SUMMARY 362
SELECTED REFERENCES 369
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 38l
APPENDIX A 382
APPENDIX B 386
APPENDIX C 389
1
INTRODUCTION
A number of American colleges and universities have
assumed contractual responsibilities with the United States
Government in providing technical assistance to underdevel­
oped areas since World War II. In most instances, the col­
lege or university has been called upon to organize, in a
particular country, a program of agricultural education de­
signed to augment existing educational facilities sponsored
by other agencies. The present study is a descriptive sur­
vey of the overall agricultural education program in Ethio­
pia, including activities carried on by the host Government,
the United Nations, and the United States Government through
a contract arrangement with the Oklahoma Agricultural and
Mechanical Arts College,
There are three general parts to the study. The first
is a description of certain factors which, in Ethiopia, are
fundamentally associated with agricultural education. These
include the country and people, the native agriculture, and
the existing general education facilities. The second part
consists of a description of the agricultural education
which has been carried on to date in Ethiopia. The third
part consists of recommendations for the expansion and im­
provement of agricultural education in Ethiopia.
An effort has been made to present the information in
2
such a way that it may be of value In the United States as
well as in Ethiopia. In the latter country, the study should
be useful in outlining an expanded program of agricultural
education. The recommendations which have been presented
should be directly applicable. Beyond this, it is hoped that
the study may be of some use as a reference for students in
Ethiopia where there Is relatively little in the way of in­
digenous writing. An attempt has been made to make the
material readable as well as informative.
In the United States, the survey should be useful in
bringing about a clearer understanding of problems which have
been encountered in establishing a program of agricultural
education in one underdeveloped country. Also, it should be
useful in planning future technical assistance for Ethiopia
and, to a limited extent, for certain other countries.
Many sources were utilized in securing material for this
study. Officials of the Imperial Ethiopian Government were
very cooperative in discussing matters pertinent to the
study. The same was true of officials of the United States
technical assistance mission in Ethiopia. Unclassified re­
ports from both agencies were utilized. All of the afore­
mentioned were primary sources. Ethiopian libraries In
various parts of the country and the British Museum in London
were visited. Both primary and secondary sources were re­
viewed at these centers. In addition, secondary sources of
3
information were obtained from various libraries in the
United States including the Library of Congress.
At the time the collection of data was begun in 1953»
there arose a particularly perplexing problem regarding the
spelling of geographical names in Ethiopia. This was due,
in part, to the fact that there is no satisfactory system
of transliteration between Amharic, the national language
of Ethiopia, and English. However, by the time writing was
begun in September, 1956, the problem had been largely re­
solved as a result of research which has been carried on by
the Imperial Ethiopian Geography and Mapping Institute in
Addis Abeba. Under the direction of Dr. Gordon B. Shilz,
the Institution has undertaken, among other activities, a
standardization of the spelling of geographical names in
Ethiopia. The spelling of names as proposed by the Insti­
tution has been used where possible throughout the study.
Obviously, certain discrepancies have arisen in connection
with quotations and names of publications, institutions,
etc. In these instances spelling has been made to comply
with the original, although the preferred spelling may have
been included.
Throughout the study, a special effort has been made to
avoid comparing practices, methods, and facilities in Ethio­
pia with those in the United States or another highly indus­
trialized nation. This was done because it is considered
h
neither necessary nor even desirable that development in
Ethiopia follow, exactly, the pattern set in highly indus
trialized nations.
5
COUNTRY AND PEOPLE
There are a number of factors associated with the coun­
try and the people that have a bearing upon the development
of agricultural education in Ethiopia. These include the
history of the country, the geography, the transportation
facilities, the people, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and
the present Government. The rough terrain, the lack of
transportation facilities, and the diversity among groups of
people have had a retarding effect upon agricultural educa­
tion. The Government, as is explained later in this manu­
script, has done a great deal in recent years to promote edu­
cation in agriculture.
History
A brief survey of the history of Ethiopia, formerly
called Abyssinia, may be divided into five parts including
the historical origin, the Axumite kingdom,^ the period of
isolation, the growth of the present state, and the Italian
^Technically the country was not named "Ethiopia" until
I9I4.I. It was first known as the "Axumite kingdom." Later
it was known as "Abyssinia." At the close of the Italian
conquest the present Emperor decreed that the country should
be called "Ethiopia."
6
conquest.* Only the most important events in each period
will be mentioned.
The Historical Origin
The history of the country is closely linked with a
highland region known as the Central Plateau and the peoples
who have occupied this mountain fortress. Here were begun
the rudiments of government which (fere gradually expanded to
encompass the remainder of the country. With few exceptions,
kingship has descended among highlanders. A productive
agriculture, plenty of water, and the availability of the
basic necessities of life within the Central Plateau have
enabled its inhabitants to survive wars even though isolated
from the outside world.
It is probable that the primitive inhabitants of the
2
highlands were of Hamitic stock. There is a twofold basis
for this statement. First, early Egyptian stock was predom-
3
inantly Hamitic in origin. Second, the Gall a, Danakil, and
^•Confusion arises regarding terminology. The "Ethiopia"
referred to in the Acts of Apostles, Chapter 8, can scarcely
have been that which is known today. Historians point out
that it must have been an earlier kingdom which existed on
what is now the Nubian Desert in northern Sudan.
^Alega Taje of the Swedish Mission, Asmera, in his
processed pamphlet, Abyssinian History, written in 1922,
traced the historical connection between early Ethiopian
tribes and Biblical figures.
3
A. H. M. Jones and Elizabeth Monroe. A history of
Ethiopia. Amen House. London, England. 1935* p. 7.