U.S.-driven agricultural development: narratives, knowledges, and practices directed towards northern Ethiopia's agro-pastoral landscapes

Abstract

This dissertation examines the narratives and practices underpinning U.S.-led agricultural development interventions in Ethiopia from 2010 to 2024. This period marks a shift in the development discourse, exemplified by the launch of the U.S. government's Feed the Future (FtF) initiative in 2009 and the Locally Led Development (LLD) initiative in 2021. The U.S. government has been one of the largest donors to Ethiopia, and development interventions targeting smallholder agriculture are frequently framed as key strategies for addressing food insecurity and adapting to climate change. Despite this, there has been limited investigation into the narratives and practices that shape U.S.-led agricultural development policy in Ethiopia between 2010 and 2024.Grounded in critical development studies, political ecology, and feminist critiques, this research investigates how development practitioners conceptualize agricultural development, define success, and engage with local agricultural knowledge systems and agroecological conditions in northern Ethiopia. This study primarily uses a qualitative approach, employing discourse analysis to examine policy documents, transcripts from development meetings, conferences, and workshops, as well as semi-structured interviews with development practitioners. Through these sources, I explore how development goals are framed, how local knowledge—particularly women's agricultural knowledge and agrobiodiversity practices—is integrated or marginalized, and how institutional constraints and the politicized nature of the development industry shape development practices and impede investigations into development. Research findings reveal that while narratives of local ownership have become prominent within U.S. development discourse, U.S.-led development efforts continue to prioritize technocratic and market-oriented interventions. These approaches frequently overlook or undermine context-specific knowledge systems that support smallholder farmer resilience and autonomy. However, Ethiopian development practitioners often have divergent understandings of development, and the roles local communities should play within interventions. Furthermore, the development industry is shaped by institutional barriers and limited transparency, which constrains both research into the industry and the industry's capacity to evolve. Overall, this dissertation contributes to ongoing debates surrounding agricultural development by examining how Western logics and narratives are utilized, how development expertise is employed, and what this means for more locally and ecologically grounded support for smallholder farming communities.