National Employment Policy and Strategy of Ethiopia.

The National Employment Policy and Strategy of Ethiopia (Policy and Strategy) is a sectoral policy and strategy with a national coverage that entered into force in 2009. The objectives of the Policy and Strategy have three important dimensions: enhancing social welfare, accelerating economic growth, and achieving political stability.
The Policy and Strategy will intensify smallholder agriculture and promotion of diversified and integrated farming of crops and livestock, crops and forestry, food and cash crops, irrigation and aquaculture, and traditional and non-traditional crops to fight hunger food insecurity and malnutrition, as well as to ensure decent wages for the poor to access food.
The Policy and Strategy has an economic objective of accelerating and sustaining growth and development through proper utilization of the country’s labor force in a productive manger as the most important resource of the country, including for the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors. In particular, the Policy and Strategy will put in place strategies for raising agricultural labor productivity, including development and implementation of a special scheme to disseminate high yielding seed varieties on a sustainable basis; implementation of support measures aimed a lowering the cost of input and irrigation; adoption of pluralistic system in agricultural extension, business advisory services and raining; and reviewing the land certification scheme with the objective of strengthening the incentives to invest on land.
The primary objective of the Policy and Strategy is to provide guidelines for streamlining productive employment and decent working conditions in the country and there by promote social welfare and equity through poverty reduction, including in rural areas. In addition, the Policy and Strategy will seek to raise agricultural labor productivity by inducing technological transformation, efficacy and intensification; improving economic incentives; enhancing infrastructure and institutional development, providing land tenure security; and promoting non-farm activities.
The Policy and Strategy will take urgent measures to strengthen inclusive institutions to give more protection, voice and support to smallholder farmers; promote the use of indigenous knowledge; intensify efforts to promote productive employment by supporting cash crop production; improve the productivity of the pastoral community; promote productive employment in livestock husbandry and poultry; and enhance support to the urban and peri-urban agriculture.
The Policy and Strategy provides an institutional framework for its implementation, as well as for the National Employment Council. In addition, a monitoring and evaluation approached is provided.