Famine and starvation are wanted in Ethiopia
Famine and Starvation are Wanted in Ethiopia by the Regime in Power and its Foreign Backers
By Zeleke WA
October 6, 2008 — Once again, a substantial number of Ethiopians are under the treat of widespread famine and starvation. Despite the occasional denials expressed by the Meles Zenawi regime for some sinister reasons, the Western media have played an important role in disseminating this news throughout the globe. Reports coming from different sources indicate that while more than six people per 10,000 die every day due to starvation, at least 10 to 14 million are at risk of starvation and malnutrition. Ethiopia is known to have faced recurrent famine and starvation of major magnitude in the 5 decades. The prevalence of such calamities in the country in the early 1970s resulted in the death of more than a quarter of a million Ethiopians. Analysts declare that this situation has played a role in the downfall of the last Emperor, Haile Selassie. During the 1984 and 1985 famous famine, which brought us the group We are the World, more than a million people starved to death. This scenario, in turn, contributed to the eventual ousting of the then ruler of the country, Mengistu Hailemariam. Experts predict that unless the current widespread famine in Ethiopia is brought under control in time, the country will be worse off than 20 years ago. The implication of this is that if unchecked, the situation could lead to a more serious problem that can even affect the stability of the Ethiopian society and integrity of the country. From the above account, it is clear that famine and its consequences are getting worse and worst in Ethiopia with subsequent regimes ruling the country.
Ironically, until recently, Ethiopia was often said to be the breadbasket of Africa. Given the rich natural resources of the country as determined by its location, size and topography, this may be true even now. Ethiopia has many rivers and lakes covering its lowlands, plains and highlands which are endowed with diverse and mostly suitable weather and soil conditions. The country has more than 6,500 species of higher plants, making it one of the most diverse floristic regions in the world. A substantial number of these species are endogenous. Consequently, Ethiopia is ranked among the top 12 Vavilovian centers of the origin of domesticated crops and their wild relatives, and as such, has significantly contributed to the richness of the world’s botanical and agricultural biodiversity. While a variety of domestic and wild animals are known to be found in Ethiopia, the country is also the home of the largest number of livestock population in Africa. Some of these animal species are also endemic.
Compared to previous regimes, the current regime in Addis Abeba is considered to be the darling of the so called developed countries led by the US. Besides having been supported by the US and UK for the take-over of power in 1991, the regime has been getting billions of dollars in the form of economic assistances. The regime being aware of the causes and effects of famine from past experiences, and armed with the rich natural resources of the country and the financial tool from donors, it is appropriate to ask why it has allowed the current famine-related sad situation to prevail in the country. Also, why is it that countries that donate “assistances” to this and previous regimes keep on doing more of the same thing instead of looking for alternative approaches that could bring about a durable solution to the problem of famine in the country? As discussed below, the most likely answer to these questions is that neither the Zenawi regime nor the donor countries are interested in curbing famine and starvation in Ethiopia. On the contrary, both seem to promote the recurrence of this devastating human condition in the country without much of concern.
As stated above, the present regime assumed power in Ethiopia in 1991 by ousting the Derg, and the US and UK governments were instrumental in facilitating the transfer of power. Since the regime was not supported by the majority of the people, many Ethiopians believe that it was imposed upon them by the foreign powers. Proving this contention, the regime has been hostile to the Ethiopian people across the board since it took power. Every effort made by the people to replace it by a democratically elected government has encountered severe resistance from the regime, usually with fatal consequences. One of the methods employed by the regime to crash the will power of the people for democratic reform is the creation and promotion of famine and starvation among the population. This approach goes along with fact that starving people are incapable of fighting for their rights. The following are some examples that can illustrate the case in point.
Lands are owned by the regime, depriving farmers from having plots that they need to produce enough crops and animal products for themselves and others. This problem is believed by many to be the major cause of famine, starvation and poverty in Ethiopia.
Other needed materials for agricultural production, such as seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, are also under the control of government-affiliated organizations, providing another opportunity for the regime to have direct control over the productivity and fate of the farming population.
Quite for sometime, the regime has been hiding the existence of famine and starvation in Ethiopia from the rest of the world, thus becoming an obstacle for the flow of desperately needed assistances (ie., when available) to the country.
In most cases, assistances given by the outside world through government agencies for famine prevention or alleviation are not made available to the needy population. Such assistances are often diverted by the regime for other purposes (eg., training security personnel and purchasing military equipment) to enable it to keep the population under dictatorial rule, while at the same time exposing them to the risks of starvation.
The US, being as powerful as it is, has a significant influence of one kind or another on the foreign policies of its peers in the North/West. This implicates that many countries in the developed world may follow at least some of the policies of the US towards developing (Third World) countries such as Ethiopia. Thus, the policies of the US towards Ethiopia and other countries of similar status with reference to famine and starvation can be said to reflect the policies or attitudes generally entertained by other developed nations. These countries, by the virtue of their powerful situate in many areas, have undeniable influences on not-well-to-do countries like Ethiopia.
Records documented by William Engdahl and several others show that US core foreign policy towards Ethiopia was set firmly in 1974 with Henry Kissinger’s National Security Study Memorandum 200 (NSSM 200) submitted to President Richard Nixon. Kissinger had the posts of National Security Advisor and Secretary of State during the Nixon Administration. The NSSM 200 document cites population growth in strategic, raw-material rich developing countries as a US national security threat. Since that time, control of economic and population growth in these countries has been adopted as a US national security concern of the highest priority. Apart from Ethiopia, there are twelve other countries targeted by the NSSM 200 as a potential threat to the US. Accordingly, a major policy of the US towards potentially-rich, fast-growing developing countries has remained to be the imposition of mechanisms that significantly cut population growth. In the NSSM 200, Kissinger also implied that famine might be an effective way to reduce population. Reiterating this policy, he remarked that the US and other donor countries would not be likely to provide necessary food export or aid to the afflicted places in these countries. Reflecting Kissinger’s policy, his Cabinet colleague, Earl Butz, who was Agriculture Secretary, in 1975 stated, “Hungry men listen only to those who have a piece of bread. Food is a tool. It is a weapon in the US negotiating kit.” The US also ensured that its population control policy was adopted as an official policy of World Bank, IMF and the UN. Accordingly, all World Bank and IMF aid to developing target countries was tied to their willingness to accept population control policies dictated by the US. Observers comment that in relation to this policy of the US, every key country has been subjected to major social, economic and military upheaval since 1974, and Ethiopia is one of the victims.
While the population control policy was implemented by all possible means available at a given time space, a more effective way of implementing it has always been sought. Genetic engineering in world agriculture, especially in target developing nations was accepted as a highly promising option for this effort in the 1970s. This decision gave rise to a greater development and promotion of genetically modified crops. These crops are by-products of splicing genes from one species into the DNA of another species in the plant kingdom. The advancement of this technology has been fueled by the possibility of the patenting of life forms for commercialization. Since the recognition of this possibility, numerous patent applications for genetically modified crops have been filed by a handful of companies, the majority of which are US-based (eg., Monsanto, DuPont, Dow Chemical, Arch Daniel Midland). The acquisition of such patents gives companies sole ownerships on genetically modified products and all the benefits associated with them. However, as it has become clearer more recently, the technology is mostly fraught with unknown and possible disastrous consequences for health, environment and even the economy. Despite this shortcoming, a few companies and their collaborators have master-planned to control world’s crop production and food supply using this technology. If and when this possibility is realized, US’s policy of population control in the key developing countries is expected to come into effect more subtly and efficiently. While this approach has indirect negative effect on the economy of the targeted countries in a number of ways, the technology is designed primarily to provide a more direct benefit to the Western/Northern elites controlling the operational system and the companies involved in the process.
Considering the specific case of Ethiopia with regard to genetically engineered crops, the overall picture looks like what is described below briefly. Reports indicate that for more than 2 decades there have been aggressive efforts by the US government and affiliated companies to introduce genetically modified crops into Ethiopia. This has been come into effect through the implementation of systematic and often very cruel approaches. Not less frequently, the highly publicized famine in the country has been taken advantage of for this evil purpose, in addition to what has been mentioned above. Concurring with the US policy described in the MSSN 200, critics also point out that the presence of famine in Ethiopia is wanted by the US and affiliated agri-biotechnology companies to promote the use of genetically modified crops more effectively, and this is perpetuated under the pretext of a number of deceptive excuses.
To pave the way for the proliferation of genetically modified crops, the IMF and World Bank policy towards Ethiopia has weakened the peasant economy and caused impoverishment of millions of Ethiopians. As described by Professor Michel Chossudovsk of Ottawa University, this policy has allowed the agri-biotechnology corporations to appropriate traditional seeds and landraces, in the meantime peddling the adoption and promotion of genetically modified seeds behind the seen in the name of emergency aid and famine relief. Following the regulation of the WTO, corporations also possess the leverage to manipulate market forces in their favor as well as obtain royalties from farmers. The WTO rules have also provided corporations some kind of legal support to dismantle state programs, such as emergency gain stocks, seed banks, extension services, and agricultural credit to plunder the peasant economy and elicit the outbreak of periodic famines. The following example from Professor Chossudovsk’s article published in Avizora illustrates how this destructive process carried out by the combined efforts of governments, the private sector and international institutions works.
“… kits of GMO seeds were handed out to impoverished farmers with a view to rehabilitating agricultural production in the wake of a major drought. The GMO seeds were planted, yielding a harvest. But the farmers came to realize that the GMO seeds could not be replanted without paying royalties to Monsanto, Arch Daniel Midland et al. Then the farmers discovered that the seeds would harvest only if they used the farm inputs including the fertilizer, insecticide and herbicide, produced and distributed by the biotech agribusiness companies. Entire peasant economies were locked into the grip of the agribusiness conglomerates. With the widespread adoption of GMO seeds, a major transition has occurred in the structure and history of settled agriculture since its inception 10,000 years ago. The reproduction of seeds at the village level in local nurseries has been disrupted by the use of genetically modified seeds. The agricultural cycle, which enables farmers to store their organic seeds and plant them to reap the next harvest has been broken. This destructive pattern- invariably resulting in famine- is replicated in country after country leading to the Worldwide demise of the peasant economy.”
Contrary to what has been publicized, since millions of Ethiopians have also been driven into starvation in the most prosperous agricultural regions of the country, drought, grain shortage or scarcity of food is not necessarily the cause of famine, hunger, poverty or social destitution in Ethiopia. In fact, climatic conditions and other natural environmental factors are believed to play only minor roles in this regard. This observation implies that the introduction of genetically modified crops is not the right approach to find solutions to the famine or food problem of the country. In fact, as pointed out earlier, it worsens the situation in a number of ways, as originally intended by its promoters.
The favorable circumstances created through the influence of the US government, the IMF, World Bank and similar organizations have allowed the agri-biotechnology companies to gain control over the Ethiopia’s seed bank, potentially “knocking out” the original and rightful owners, the Ethiopian farmers. In addition, the country’s extensive and unique reserves of traditional seed varieties, including teff, barley, sorghum and chick peas, have been appropriated, genetically modified, and patented by the foreign agro-business companies. The implication of this measure is that while Ethiopian farmers, in the long-run, may lose their own native seed resources, they may be forced to pay for the benefits of foreign companies who have patented and selling the same species in the form of genetically modified crops. Being as attractive as it is for every interested foreigner, it is likely that the process of genetic manipulations of Ethiopian unique plants is going on widely both inside and outside the country with the ultimate objective of private ownership and replacement of the native plants. What is more disturbing is that the current regime ruling the country is in full collaboration with the foreigners who perform this very dangerous venture behind the back of the Ethiopian people. For instance, the TPLF-owned company (run solely by the elites of the regime), Ethiopian Seed Enterprise, is engaged in seed business in Ethiopia in partnership with foreign companies, by appropriating publicly-owned agencies/companies whose services had been vital to the majority of the Ethiopian farmers. The TPLF-owned company is also believed to function as a distributor of genetically modified seeds (together with related chemical like hybrid resistant herbicide) to smallholders, in collaboration with the US’s Pioneer HI-Breed International and others. In this connection, it is also worth mentioning that, contrary to the beliefs of almost all country leaders and experts in Africa, Meles Zenawi is in support of the promotion of genetically modified crops in Ethiopia and the rest of Africa. This view of Zenawi goes along with his desire to ascertain the support he gets from the West, led by the US, and his plan to promote famine and starvation in Ethiopia in order to weaken possible greater public challenges against his regime.
From the aforementioned it is clear that famine and starvation are wanted to prevail in Ethiopia by the current regime ruling the country and its backers in the Northern/western world. As long as the country is controlled under the present system of administration, it is unlikely that it will get out of this problem in the foreseeable future. If this situation is not altered favorably in time, there is the possibility of the problem will lead to a more serious calamity that may disrupt the basic survival mechanisms of the Ethiopian society and even the integrity of the country, which may be difficult to be reversed later on. It is up to the Ethiopian people to appreciate this magnanimous problem that they are facing now and take the necessary challenges to make change happen in their favor before it is too late.
The writer is a biomedical scientist residing in the US. He can be reached at [email protected].