ETHIOPIA

Abstract and Main Features

The rationale for developing a National Agroecology Strategy (NAES) in Ethiopia stems from the urgent need to transform a vulnerable, input-dependent agricultural sector into a more resilient, sustainable and equitable food system. The strategy will address critical national challenges, including pervasive soil degradation, high vulnerability to climate change (droughts and floods), biodiversity loss, and persistent food and nutrition insecurity. By adopting a holistic, ecosystem-based approach, the Strategy aims to restore natural resource health, reduce reliance on expensive external chemical inputs, enhance on-farm resilience and productivity in a climate-smart manner, and promote social equity for smallholder farmers, pastoralists and agro-pastoralists, thereby securing long-term food sovereignty and sustainable development goals. The legal enforcement of this National Agroecology Strategy is a policy paradigm shift that directly aligns with the implicit guarantees of the Ethiopian Constitution, specifically the Right to Development (Art. 43) and the Right to Adequate Food (Art. 90.1) by ensuring agricultural production is sustainable and not achieved at the expense of natural resources or future generations (FDRE, 1995). Furthermore, it would be a strategic instrument for operationalizing Ethiopia’s commitment to the Ethiopian Food System (EFS) Pathway, which envisions an inclusive, equitable and nature-positive food system (GoV, 2021). The Strategy is fundamentally aligned with the nation’s paradigm shift towards agroecology as articulated in the recently endorsed Agricultural and Rural Development (ARD) Policy (GoV, 2024). This new ARD Policy explicitly prioritizes a holistic approach that emphasizes agroecological principles, moving away from a narrow focus on chemical-intensive productivity to one grounded in resilience, environmental stewardship and biodiversity conservation. It is primarily driven by the imperative to translate key Ethiopian policies into actionable strategies for a sustainable food system.  

Sone of the main features of this strategy include: 

• Ensuring integration of local/ traditional knowledge and science-based agroecological innovations ; 
• Investing in market infrastructure, including rural collection centres, cold storage and local processing units ; 
• Supporting youth-, women-, Person With Disabilities, Internally Displaced Person, People Living  With HIV-AIDs, etc.-led enterprises in agroecological value chains ; 
• Protection and promotion of healthy local/traditional food cultures ; 
• Alignment with other national programmes such as Agriculture and Rural Development Policy, National food and Nutrition Policy, Environmental Policy, Bounty of the Basket Initiative, Ethiopian Seed law, Green Legacy Initiative, Pastoral Development Policy, National Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Strategy, Vision 2030, etc.

Objectives 

The Strategy outlines six core strategic objectives, each aligned with the country’s agricultural priorities, local environmental context, African Union Agenda 2063 and the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The objectives are to : 

1. Promote sustainable and resilient agricultural practices and technologies. 
2. Enhance knowledge, research, and capacity for agroecological innovation and extension services. 
3. Support market system development. 
4. Create an enabling environment for policy and governance. 
5. Strengthen social inclusion and empowerment. 
6. Promote sustainable consumption and healthy diets. 

In addition to these six overall objectives, the Strategy includes a Theory of Change that conceptualizes key assumptions, inputs and resources, activities by strategic objectives, outputs, outcomes, and the overall impact by 2040.  

Key Target Groups  

This strategy explicitly acknowledges the importance to integrate gender equity and social inclusion and address the needs of key target groups such as women, people with disabilities, youth, pastoralists, and other vulnerable groups.  

Expected Results 

The strategy is expected to deliver the following outcomes: 

Short-term (1-2 years) : 

• • Awareness and capacity enhanced 
  • Learning platforms established 
  • Innovations piloted and adopted 
  • Coordination and inclusion strengthened 

Intermediate (3-5 years) : 

• • Wider adoption; resilience and productivity increase 
  • Soil health, water retention, ecosystems improve 
  • Inclusive markets/value chains strengthened  
  • Policies, governance, investments strengthened 

Long-term : 

• • Agroecology institutionalized and scaled 
  • Ecosystems restored; biodiversity conserved 
  • Climate resilience strengthened 
  • Equitable access to resources and markets 

Strategy Development Process 

The development process of this Strategy, led by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), begun with a high-level consultative workshop in November 2024 that initiated the roadmap and established the core Strategy Technical Task Force with members from the MoA, the Alliance of Biodiversity and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, Center for International Forestry Research-World Agroforestry Centre, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Ethiopian Sustainable Food Systems  and Agroecology Consortium, and the Haramaya University. This was followed by a sequence of taskforce meetings throughout 2025: the first meeting established the taskforce and initiated the strategy outline and work plan; the second defined the vision and scope and refined core strategy elements; the third reviewed a near-complete draft and integrated specialized technical expertise; the fourth finalized the structure of thematic working groups; the fifth endorsed the composition and focus of these groups; and the sixth reviewed technical outputs and conducted a final pre-consultation check of the implementation matrix. In parallel, a technical working group workshop in August 2025 produced a detailed implementation matrix. A national stakeholders consultation workshop in October 2025 then validated the policy direction with broad stakeholder participation, followed by a formal review stage in November 2025 involving final technical review and external expert input. The process concluded with a final validation workshop in December 2025, where stakeholders confirmed readiness for political endorsement, culminating in the official launch, publication and nationwide dissemination of the strategy in March 2026. 

Ministries and Stakeholders Involved in the Process 

• Government Ministries coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture: Ministry of Irrigation and Lowlands, Ministry of Innovation and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Planning and Development, Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration, Natural Resources Development Sector of the Ministry of Agriculture ; 
• Producers, farmer and community-based organisations, agro-dealers, farmer cooperatives ; 
• CSOs, Local and International NGOs ; 
• Research Institutes and academia: Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute (EBI), Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), Forest Research Institute, Haramaya University) ; 
• Technical and financial partners: Alliance of Bioversity International and International Center for Tropical Agriculture, Center for International Forestry Research-World Agroforestry Centre, Agroecological Transitions Programme for Building Resilient and Inclusive Agricultural and Food Systems (TRANSITIONS), funded by the European Union under the DeSIRA Initiative and managed by International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Liechtenstein Development Service–funded Food Systems Transformations through Agroecology project and the CGIAR Science Program on Multifunctional Landscapes, under the Transformative Partnership Platform on Agroecology, supported by the French Government, Irish Aid, WorldVeg, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa- Ethiopia.

Implementation 

The implementation phase envisions actions in the following intervention areas to ensure the successful achievement of the Strategy’s objectives:  

• Successful implementation of the National Agroecology Strategy will require the active participation of a wide range of stakeholders in Ethiopia, encompassing both multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary governmental and non-governmental actors operating at the national, regional, zonal, district and kebele levels. 
• Actors will be responsible for directly implementing several activities under various strategic objectives and focus areas. Coordinating the efforts of various partners is necessary to ensure synergy, avoid duplication, and enhance collective impact. 
• To achieve the desired outcomes, the strategy’s execution will require adequate financial resources and human capital, as well as strong technical support from both the public and private sectors. 
• The strategy’s effectiveness will largely depend on the establishment of a robust system for monitoring, evaluation and risk management. Such a system will enable timely tracking of progress, identification of potential challenges, and implementation of appropriate corrective measures. 
• Risk management will also be integrated to anticipate, assess and mitigate potential threats that may hinder implementation. 

Budget and Funding 

The government, through national and regional budgets, will play a central role in financing agroecology initiatives. Key mechanisms include: 

• Sectoral budget allocations, regional funding, and conditional grants and incentives ; 
• Private sector investment in agro-processing and market development, corporate social responsibility programmes, and public-private partnerships (PPPs) ; 
• Farmers and cooperative sources: Microfinance and credit financing, designing an insurance system as a financial mechanism, and development partner support ; 
• Bilateral and multilateral development partners support through technical and financial assistance, co-financing arrangements, and knowledge and technology transfer ; 
• Innovative and alternative financing mechanisms (Green Climate Fund, Global Environment Facility, Dedicated agroecology fund, Payment for ecosystem services). 

N.B. This summary did not receive an official review from the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture.

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Image Credit: Pesticide Action Network