Ethiopia is one of the World’s poorest countries. Out of a population of over 80 million people, 35 million people are living in abject poverty. About 44% of the population lives under the poverty line, more than 12 million people don’t have food available. On average, the people live on 25 cents a day.
The Oromia Region is the largest region in Ethiopia with similar socio-economic measures and comprises nearly half of the population in Ethiopia. The UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI) listings which arranges countries according to their overall level of human development, ranks Ethiopia 171st out of a total of 174 nations. The HDI is a composite index that measures life expectancy at birth, adult literacy rate, school enrollment ratio, and the GDP per capita.
Most Ethiopians live in rural areas with agriculture as their main occupation and about 80% of Ethiopians are dependent on agriculture as their main livelihood. Increased poverty, water scarcity, and food scarcity are some of the negative impacts that hit small-scale farmers.
