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From Intensification to Sustainability? Political Leadership and Agricultural Transformation in Ethiopia

Rohne Till, Emelie LU and Andersson, Martin LU orcid (2025) In Land
Abstract
Ethiopia achieved a remarkable episode of agricultural intensification from the mid-1990s to the late-2010s, yet the political mechanisms that enabled this transformation—and the distributional and environmental consequences that followed—remain insufficiently understood. This article ex- amines how political leadership, understood in institutional rather than personalistic terms, shaped both the drivers of large-scale intensification and the inclusiveness and sustainability of its out- comes. Using a five-dimension analytical framework of vision, commitment, timeframe, inclusion, and sustainability, and an analytical narrative approach, the study shows that the political leadership played a decisive role in enabling the agricultural... (More)
Ethiopia achieved a remarkable episode of agricultural intensification from the mid-1990s to the late-2010s, yet the political mechanisms that enabled this transformation—and the distributional and environmental consequences that followed—remain insufficiently understood. This article ex- amines how political leadership, understood in institutional rather than personalistic terms, shaped both the drivers of large-scale intensification and the inclusiveness and sustainability of its out- comes. Using a five-dimension analytical framework of vision, commitment, timeframe, inclusion, and sustainability, and an analytical narrative approach, the study shows that the political leadership played a decisive role in enabling the agricultural intensification. It did so by articulating an agri- culture-first reform vision, demonstrating commitment to sectoral investment, and maintaining a long policy horizon. However, uneven inclusion and limited progress in sustainable land and water management pose risks to long-term outcomes. The Ethiopian case illustrates that capable, long- horizon leadership can mobilize the public apparatus to produce substantial agricultural gains, but that enduring transformation requires deliberate policies for broad-based inclusion and environ- mental sustainability (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Ethiopia achieved a remarkable episode of agricultural intensification from the mid-1990s to the late-2010s, yet the political mechanisms that enabled this transformation—and the distributional and environmental consequences that followed—remain insufficiently understood. This article ex- amines how political leadership, understood in institutional rather than personalistic terms, shaped both the drivers of large-scale intensification and the inclusiveness and sustainability of its out- comes. Using a five-dimension analytical framework of vision, commitment, timeframe, inclusion, and sustainability, and an analytical narrative approach, the study shows that the political leadership played a decisive role in enabling the agricultural... (More)
Ethiopia achieved a remarkable episode of agricultural intensification from the mid-1990s to the late-2010s, yet the political mechanisms that enabled this transformation—and the distributional and environmental consequences that followed—remain insufficiently understood. This article ex- amines how political leadership, understood in institutional rather than personalistic terms, shaped both the drivers of large-scale intensification and the inclusiveness and sustainability of its out- comes. Using a five-dimension analytical framework of vision, commitment, timeframe, inclusion, and sustainability, and an analytical narrative approach, the study shows that the political leadership played a decisive role in enabling the agricultural intensification. It did so by articulating an agri- culture-first reform vision, demonstrating commitment to sectoral investment, and maintaining a long policy horizon. However, uneven inclusion and limited progress in sustainable land and water management pose risks to long-term outcomes. The Ethiopian case illustrates that capable, long- horizon leadership can mobilize the public apparatus to produce substantial agricultural gains, but that enduring transformation requires deliberate policies for broad-based inclusion and environ- mental sustainability (Less)
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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
in press
subject
in
Land
publisher
MDPI AG
ISSN
2073-445X
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c3c83578-645f-45b1-9d79-73ed89bb6883
date added to LUP
2025-12-08 14:30:29
date last changed
2025-12-09 15:37:56
@article{c3c83578-645f-45b1-9d79-73ed89bb6883,
  abstract     = {{Ethiopia achieved a remarkable episode of agricultural intensification from the mid-1990s to the late-2010s, yet the political mechanisms that enabled this transformation—and the distributional and environmental consequences that followed—remain insufficiently understood. This article ex- amines how political leadership, understood in institutional rather than personalistic terms, shaped both the drivers of large-scale intensification and the inclusiveness and sustainability of its out- comes. Using a five-dimension analytical framework of vision, commitment, timeframe, inclusion, and sustainability, and an analytical narrative approach, the study shows that the political leadership played a decisive role in enabling the agricultural intensification. It did so by articulating an agri- culture-first reform vision, demonstrating commitment to sectoral investment, and maintaining a long policy horizon. However, uneven inclusion and limited progress in sustainable land and water management pose risks to long-term outcomes. The Ethiopian case illustrates that capable, long- horizon leadership can mobilize the public apparatus to produce substantial agricultural gains, but that enduring transformation requires deliberate policies for broad-based inclusion and environ- mental sustainability}},
  author       = {{Rohne Till, Emelie and Andersson, Martin}},
  issn         = {{2073-445X}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI AG}},
  series       = {{Land}},
  title        = {{From Intensification to Sustainability? Political Leadership and Agricultural Transformation in Ethiopia}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}