ABSTRACT
Since 1930, Ethiopia has seen only three governments with contrasting polices and strategies for agricultural and rural development. Emperor Haile Sellassie took power in 1930 and reigned until 1974. 1 Haile Sellassie centralized the state and attempted to foster unity through the development of a national army, a pan-Ethiopian economy, and modern infrastructure and communications. However, the economic benefits did not reach the peasantry and the working classes. In particular, famine in Wollo and some parts of Tigray was reported to have killed thousands of people in 1972 to 1974 while the Emperor and the nobility were living a lavish lifestyle. The famine and its media coverage, together with the high oil prices of 1973, prompted a rebellion that overthrew the Imperial government in 1974. This also ended the history of the Ethiopian Monarchy.
