Introduction
Ethiopia, or officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is one of the poorest countries in the world. The country’s national poverty level is around 44% with most of the Ethiopians surviving on U.S. $1 a day (Gupta, Clemens, and Inchauste 353). The economy of the country is considered to be fast-growing though, in reality, the population hardly experiences any improvements. The reasons for the country’s low level of development are mostly its underuse of available resources. For instance, Ethiopia’s water reserves are huge, but they are rarely used for irrigation due to the lack of proper irrigation techniques. Similarly, the agricultural potential of the country is immense, but the land’s possibilities are not used to the fullest extent for there are no proper technologies for this. Hence is poor economic development of Ethiopia: “The economy of Ethiopia is very agrarian, focusing mainly on the production and export of commodities such as coffee. Consequently, the country is particularly vulnerable to drought and the adverse effects of fluctuations in the commodity prices” (Gupta et al. 353). Incorporation of technologies into Ethiopia’s development plan can significantly fuel its development; the use of computers, the Internet, telephones/cell phones, computerized medical equipment, irrigation technologies, and soil management techniques will contribute greatly to the improvement of different spheres of human activities in the country, which will facilitate the development of Ethiopia and lead to its economic growth.
Use of Computers
Computer is one of the greatest inventions of humanity which greatly facilitates almost all the activities which people have to undertake. The use of computers is likely to increase the living standards in Ethiopia if computer technologies are more widely applied in work. Of course, such possibilities as fast processing of information, large storage capacities, and variety of entertainments are an integral part of the computer user, but those can hardly contribute to development of the country. The use of computers in business sphere, however, will be more helpful. Not all the people in Ethiopia are involved in agriculture; though the country is poorly developed, there are still business branches that deal with commerce, management, advertising, finances, etc. Furnishing these offices with more computers and different software will help to develop information databases enabling to trace import and export of the country, its performance at the international market, and general rates of development; these data can be further compared and evaluated with possible solutions for the improvement offered. Thus, making the business sphere of the country more active will result in innovative solutions to the problems of the poor economic development of Ethiopia.
Use of the Internet
The Internet has changed lives of many people giving them opportunities to work and get an education distantly. Ethiopia has its own Internet provider, The Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporations, which was established in 1996 (Nemati and Barko 954). However, the majority of Ethiopian population has no access to the Internet, which results in complete illiteracy of more than a half of the population. The main benefit of the use of the Internet in case with Ethiopia consists in its facilitating the education process in the country. Computer education should be provided at schools and higher educational establishments for the students to acquire an ability to search for new information, rather than be limited by the study books which are not numerous. Giving the students access to the Internet will be the government’s long-term investment for it will result in the students’ acquiring new professions and using the experience of the foreign countries to improve the economy of their own. In this way, the Internet will be able not only to educate the population, but give the Ethiopians a possibility to learn from the experience of the foreign countries and contribute to the development of Ethiopia.
Use of Telecommunications Products
No matter how strange it may seem, but the use of telephones, cell phones, and fax machines can also significantly influence the economic welfare of the country through the development of the marketing sector. Ensuring proper coverage and making cell phones available to the population will increase their popularity in the country. The production of the country’s models of cell phones (which are likely to be less expensive) will increase the sales of these products. With the increase of the models’ popularity, the brand may try to enter the global market. If this entering is successful, the effect on the Ethiopian economy will be immediate. One more benefit of these technologies, especially fax machines, is in improving the cooperation between Ethiopia and the world countries. The use of a fax machine is especially helpful in business communications. It facilitates and accelerates the transmission of information promoting the cooperation between the business parties. Thus, if these telecommunications products are properly used in Ethiopia, the country will be able to introduce new products to the local, and later, international markets and significantly improve communication and cooperation with other countries.
Use of Computerized Medical Equipment
The wealth of any country is in health of its population. Poor health hurts the quality of the working force, which results in low productivity and, therefore, poor economic performance. Ethiopia suffers from the lack of medical facilities, let alone modern computerized medical equipment which allows diagnosing the diseases at early stages. The surveys have shown that most of the people in Ethiopia do not turn for medical help relying instead on the help of the traditional healers (Parry, Godfrey, and Mabey 814). This results in high levels of mortality from diseases that can be cured with the help of modern medical facilities. If Ethiopia starts using computerized medical equipment (tomographs, pacemakers, defibrillators, etc), the quality of the medical services delivered in the country will improve. This may result in medical education attracting more students and if these students have the facilities to study, the medical sphere of the country will start developing rapidly. This, in its turn, will result in attracting foreign specialists to the country and obtaining funding from the more prosperous countries, which will entail the development of Ethiopian economy.
Use of Irrigation Technologies
Use of technologies in agriculture will be especially beneficial for Ethiopia due to its agrarian economy. As already mentioned, the country’s water reserves are great, but lack of proper irrigation results in low productivity of the crops, which significantly decreases export rates. Modern irrigation technologies, such as drip systems, increase soil productivity and can almost double the harvest. This maximizes production and consequently increases the export rates and the profits obtained from the sale of the crops. Of course, installing a drip system demands financial expenses, as well as certain money will be spent for further maintenance of the system. However, all these expenses are likely to be covered with time. Thus, the use of irrigation technologies can significantly contribute to the development of Ethiopian economy.
Soil Management Technologies
Just like water management, soil management is necessary for the improvement of Ethiopia’s economy. Some of soil management techniques include “controlled grazing; mulching with organic matter applying manure and biosolids; use of cover crops in the rotation cycle; agroforestry; contour farming; hedgerows; terracing; plastic mulch for erosion control”, etc (Emerging Technologies to Benefit Farmers 3). The emerging nanotechnologies are also of great contribution to innovative agricultural technologies. For instance, soil amendments that are based on these technologies “help remediate toxic substances in soil that can inhibit the growth of plants and beneficial soil bacteria” (Emerging Technologies to Benefit Farmers 4). The use of these technologies can improve the condition of the soil of Ethiopian farms and increase its productivity, which will lead to higher profits and the development of the country’s economy.
Conclusion
Some different technologies can be used to develop different spheres of Ethiopian society and, correspondingly, it’s economy in general. Thus, the use of computers can develop the business sphere, the access to Internet is beneficial for education, the use of telecommunications products can promote business communication, computerized medical equipment can improve the quality of healthcare services, and irrigation technologies together with soil management ones can contribute into the development of farming. The use of all these technologies at least gradually is recommended to introduce into the plan of Ethiopian economic development. This will require huge costs, but such investments will be bringing benefits to the country for the next several decades and will ensure Ethiopia with a high level of economic development and prosperity.
Works Cited
Gupta, Sanjeev, Clements, Benedict J., and Inchauste, Gabriela. Helping Countries Develop: The Role of Fiscal Policy. New York: International Monetary Fund, 2004.
Nemati, Hamid R. and Barko, Christopher D. Organizational Data Mining: Leveraging Enterprise Data Resources for Optimal Performance. London: Idea Group Inc., 2004.
Parry, Eldryd H.O., Godfrey, Richard, and Mabey, David. Principles of Medicine in Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
The National Academies. “Emerging Technologies to Benefit Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.” The National Academies. National Academy of Sciences, 2009. Web.