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THE ECONOMY

The Sidama economy is based primarily on subsistence agriculture characterized by archaic production techniques. However, a substantial proportion of the Sidama land produces coffee which is the major cash crop in the area. Coffee has been the major sources of income for the rural households in the coffee producing regions of the Sidama land. However the recent plunge in international coffee price coupled with inimical government policy on Sidama drew most of these households back in to the subsistence production and absolute poverty.

In fact Sidama is one of the major coffee producing regions in Ethiopia. In particular Sidama supplies 45-50% of washed coffee to the central market. Coffee is the single major export earner for the country. Export earnings from coffee ranges from 55-67% although the country’s share in the world market is less than 3%. However the benefits of the coffee revenue have never trickled down to the producers in Sidama area even during those periods of coffee booms as a result of which the region remained one of the most underdeveloped areas in the country.

A semi narcotic crop called Chat has recently become another major cash crop in the Sidama land. A crop whose leaves are chewed as stimulants has become another major export earner for the country and a substantial amount of this crop comes from the Sidama region. Given the dramatic fall in the world coffee price and subsequent loss of revenue and deterioration in living standards of the rural households in Sidama, it is feared that farmers may root the coffee plants out and replace them with Chat permanently.

Other major crops produced in Sidama include Weesee (also called false banana), wheat, Oat, maize, barley, sorghum, millets, sugar cane, potatoes, and other cereal crops and vegetables. Weesee is the main staple food in Sidama. Apart from being the main source of food, parts of the weesee tree can be used as inputs in other economic activities like construction of houses, production of containers like sacks, and for handling food items during and after preparation of food. Thus the pattern of Weesee and coffee production and consumption over the years has substantially shaped the nature of the Sidama culture and hence the name the Weesee culture.

The role of livestock was highly significant in medieval and early 20th century Sidama society. However, recently the importance of live stock has been dwindling because of two factors. One a rapid increase in population reduced the size of grazing land for large stocks and second a severe ‘Tse-Tse’ fly disease in low land areas has virtually wiped out most of the livestock population during the last quarter of the 20th century. However livestock is still the most important source of livelihood for people living in the peripheral areas of the Sidama land.

Forestry and fishery are underdeveloped in the Sidama area. Fishing activities are limited to the most prominent lakes in Sidama: lake Awassa and lake Abaya. Although Sidama has several perennial rivers these rivers have never been exploited. Although commercial forestry is underdeveloped Sidama is well known for its traditional agro forestry system which saved the land from erosion and desertification. Every household in Sidama practices planting crops with trees. However this tendency has also brought a negative impact in recent times. Farmers begun planting Eucalyptus trees near other crops. Because the later plant has a poisonous effect it destroys other crops planted near it. Most farmers are aware of the problem. However the economic benefits of the eucalyptus tree outweighs the cost of losing small crops near it for individual farmers. But this trend is dangerous for the overall environmental safety of the Sidama land.

Sidama is characterized by a very low level of industrial development. There are very few manufacturing factories in Sidama land. A very few factories available in the area are all located in Awassa town and its environs. The government owned textile and ceramic factories are the only notable manufacturing activities in Sidama. A chip wood factory built in recent years and a meat processing factory in Malga Wondo are the only major private manufacturing activities in the entire Sidama land. Small scale manufacturing activities are highly underdeveloped because of the inimical government policies.

Mining is virtually non existent. Although Sidama is said to have a good potential of mineral resources particularly in the Great East African Rift Valley and the eastern highlands of the Sidama land nothing has been done to exploit these resources. Such an absolute lack of industrial development in the area which is characterized by massive over population in rural areas, means not only that Sidama is the poorest place on the planet but the future generation is under the threat of being annihilated.

The development of both economic and social services is very low. Supply of electricity, water and telephone services is the monopoly of the government and hence its supply is severely curtailed. Private financial services are beginning to operate in the area but are still insignificant. Trade and transport services are severely underdeveloped and limited mainly to very few urban areas. Trade activities in rural Sidama heavily depend on purchase and sale of coffee. Thus the coffee slum has severely affected these activities.

There is a great tourism potential in Sidama area. The rift valley lakes like Awassa and Abaya are already some major tourist attractions in Sidama land. However, the access to lake Abaya through Sidama land has been opened only two years ago and is not well developed and not open for potential tourists. The agro forestry and the mountain ranges of eastern highlands are other potential tourist attractions in Sidama. However they have not been exploited so far.

Employment in modern sector is very much limited. The total estimated number of the labour forces employed in modern sector in Sidama is less than 1%. Out of the estimated total population of 4.5 million, an estimated 1.5 million people are in the active labour force of which 750,000 are estimated to be underemployed or unemployed in Sidama.