Drought Drops Ethiopian Grain Production Nearly 20%

Apr 07, 2016

Ethiopia is facing its worst drought in decades because of a strong El Niño weather phenomenon, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) said in a March 18 report.

Untimely and insufficient rainfall through many parts of the country has pushed national market year 2015-16 grain production steeply downward, which has in turn led to upward pressure on grain prices. In particular, production of major grains corn, sorghum, wheat, teff, barley and millet fell about 4.5 million tonnes, a drop of nearly 20% from the previous year. However, of these grains, it is important to note that teff and barley production were only down marginally since the regions where these crops are grown were only slightly affected by the drought.

With weather conditions expected to improve, grain production is expected to partially rebound in market year 2016-17. The production of major grains in market year 2016-17 is expected to reach about 21 million tonnes, but still about 1 million tonnes lower than the market year 2014-15 pre-drought production figures. A full recovery, in terms of grain production, is expected to take a couple years as farmers re-build assets, purchase seeds and fertilizer, and gradually begin to resume normal living patterns.

Over the past year (Jan.-Dec.), retail grain prices have gone up, with the biggest increases in teff and sorghum prices, which grew 19% and 16%, respectively. Corn marked the smallest price increase for this period at just 3%. In the latter part of the year, the drought-related production losses have been exerting additional upward price pressure.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.