Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy of Oromia, providing employment for an estimated 89% of the population and accounting for about 65% of the region's gross domestic product. It also meets almost all food demand for the expanding population of the region as well as provides a lion's share of raw materials for industries and exportable products for foreign markets (Oromia Regional Income account, 1999).
In spite of its significance, Oromia's agriculture is characterized by backward farming practices, limited use of modern technologies, very poor productivity and heavy dependence on rain, which have been seriously hampering the development of the sector. Furthermore, rapid growth of population, fragmentation and reduction of farm sizes as well as soil degradation negatively affected the output productivity of food crops. As a result, the sector is not able to fulfill the bare food requirement of the population, and thus, food insecurity has become a serious problem of the region.
