Ethiopia : Context
Persistent insecurity of food supplies. A vast
country of the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia is
the 7th poorest country of the world, with a per capita GNP of about
100 $. The economy remains fragile. Ethiopia, essentially a country of agriculture,
has to face the challenge of food security (15 million people needed help
during the terrible droughts in 2002/2003) About 45 % of the population
suffer from the insecurity of food supplies during periods 
of drought.
Many causes are known for this situation: rising demographic growth rate,
climate change leading to recurrent droughts, deterioration of soils, limited
access to basic services, to credits for farm supplies, to information
or basic farming technologies.
To limit these problems, the Ethiopian government has developed a nation wide programme for greater security of food supplies. In this programme beneficiaries are also operators. Since 1996 Ethiopia has its own legislation in the field of microfinance.
