In the late-19th-century, the main cash crop of Harerge, Ethiopia, shifted from coffee and food crops to khat, a quasi-legal psychoactive shrub. This text examines the demographic, market and political factors behind this change and explores the consequences. North America: Ohio U Press

Leaf of Allah: Khat and Agricultural Transformation in Harerge, Eastern Ethiopia 1875-1991 (Eastern African Studies)

History

Ezekiel Gebissa

Africa

James Currey

<p>Translation of: oHeyewataenaa YaItyocpyaa ermejaa.</p>

The Autobiography of Emperor Haile Sellassie1 King of Kings of Ehiopia Vol. 1 (Hardcover)

Frontline Distribution International

Since 1991, there has been renewed debate in Ethiopia concerning the implication of the country s past for the present polity. The long-standing debate was given an added impetus by Eritrea s independence from Ethiopia and the threat of disintegration posed by the continued struggle for self-determination by other ethnonational groups. Ethiopianist scholars, always committed to the indivisibility and unassailability of the Ethiopian state, blamed the country s political troubles on nationalist scholars, accusing them of fabricating history and instigating people into taking up arms against the state. Vowing to protect Ethiopia from further disintegration, the Ethiopianist elite called on patriotic scholars to challenge, expose, and discredit what they described as the politically motivated propaganda of irresponsible nationalists. In Contested Terrain, a team of historians and sociologists confront the scholarship of power that dismisses politically engaged scholarship in the name of academic objectivity. Based on the experience of the Oromo in Ethiopia, they tackle the methodological and political challenges of nationalist scholarship within the highly contested terrain of Ethiopian studies and argue that objectivity in scholarship should not mean neutrality in the face of injustice and exploitation. In eight chapters, they show that scholars can recover the experiences of the disadvantaged and underrepresented and give voice to the powerless and downtrodden. They demonstrate that there is no contradiction between challenging prevailing dogmas and inherited orthodoxies in academia on the one hand and giving support to struggles aimed at ending exploitative practices and dismantling institutions of oppression on the other. Academic objectivity must not be a tool for questioning the scholarly value of nationalist scholarship solely on the basis of the scholar s commitment to certain political causes. As an intellectual enterprise, politically engaged scholarship should be judged on its own merits, not on the basis of its implications for the well-being of political entities.

Contested Terrain: Essays on Oromo Studies, Ethiopianist Discourses, and Politically Engaged Scholarship

Editor)

Red Sea Press

<p>Khat (catha edulis) is a psychoactive shrub whose tender leaves and twigs are chewed in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula for their euphonizing effects for a millennium. A stimulant grown in small gardens for consumption on cultural and religious occasions around the turn of the last century, khat has now become the preferred and most sought-after cash crop, the most visible and pervasive social habit, and an important income-generating occupation for millions of Ethiopians. Within Ethiopia, khat chewing has become a ubiquitous habit, cutting across class, religious, ethnic, and gender affiliations. In addition to satisfying the domestic demand, Ethiopian producers supply fresh leaves to chewers in Djibouti, the Republic of Somaliland, and some Middle Eastern countries. More recently, refugees from the Horn of Africa further spread the custom of chewing to their host nations, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and various Western European countries, opening up new demand for Ethiopian khat. The growing prominence of khat has prompted many governments to react to the phenomenon variously. While khat use is still legal in many countries, there is growing international pressure to impose a ban on its use and trade. The chapters in the current volume articulate the perplexing questions that khat farmers, traders and traditional users raise about the need for such action by showing that khat is not a drug that leaves a trail of destruction in its wake in the form of addicts, criminal traffickers, and corrupt officials. The khat farmer, trader, and majority of chewers are deeply tied to the leaves for historical, economic and cultural reasons. Khat is an integral part of the agricultural systems of nearly all regions of Ethiopia. In the traditional context, khat is used in ritual and habitual ways that exhibit its cultural embeddedness. As a cash crop, it has improved rural life, enabled farmers to become food self-sufficient, and allowed many to move to non-farm occupations, thus relieving pressure on land resources. The revenue from taxes and duties on khat transactions supports government expenditures and development efforts and the cash flow generates multiplier effects in the regions where it is grown. Ironically titled, Taking the Place of Food, explains that the shift to high-value cash crop agriculture in many parts of Ethiopia represents farmers informed and forward-looking response to changing market situations, political adversities, environmental challenges, and family considerations. The shift was inevitable in a situation where no alternative crop that possessed khat s economic benefits existed. While outlining khat s economic importance and cultural significance, the chapters in this volume stress that khat production cannot be the foundation for sustainable rural development in Ethiopia solely based on the effort of smallholder producers. As such, it highlights the stark choice between extreme poverty and the lure of a high value cash crop that the farmers face. The country faces a similar dilemma. The chapters in this volume collectively argue that official policy thinking must move away from rural development strategies that perpetuate the doctrinaire assumption that farmers must be helped to become better farmers to emphasizing diversification of the regional economy.</p>

Khat in Ethiopia: Taking the Place of Food

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Addiction & Recovery

Red Sea Press,U.S.

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Books by Ezekiel Gebissa