ABSTRACT
The post-1974 period saw the building of a command economy that failed to operate as planned. The development objectives, priorities, and goals of the defunct Mengistu military government were reviewed by Eshetu Chole and Mekonnen Manyazewal. The Ethiopian economy performed poorly in the 1980s in comparison with other East African countries. The macroeconomic variables are systematically reviewed by several individual investigators and institutions. The Ethiopian economy is dominated by peasant agriculture, which provides about 43% of Gross domestic product, about 90% of total exports, and more than 85% of the total labor force. The need for policy reform was felt as the economic crisis deepened and peasant resistance to state polity increased. The disappointing performance of the agricultural sector, coupled with external shocks and internal problems, has severely retarded the growth of the whole economy. Ethiopian agriculture consists of smallholder farms, collective farms, and state farms.
