Abstract:
The chairman briefly reviewed the history and purposes of the seminar, certain developments in the agriculture sector and the background to the present meeting. The following are some of the points mentioned. Tis year's seminar is the fourth in a series started in 1970 and held regularly since in the autumn of every year. The occasion was originally intended for a review of studies conducted in Ethiopia which had reached a sufficiently advanced stage to make possible at least preliminary conclusions and recommendations. While this aspect remains an integral component of the seminar, this gathering has evolved into an important annual even for the survey of major developments in all branches of the agricultural sector. Two aspects of the seminar deserve to be stressed. One is that it complements the work of the various national Research Committees on livestock, field crops and horticulture, which are planning and executing bodies, whereas the seminar is a forum for the discussion of results achieved
; the other is the valuable service that the seminar can render in bringing together planners, administrators, extension personnel and research workers. This is an essential mechanism for ensuring that those serving Ethiopian agriculture and aware of, and responsive to, development needs, and that, on the other hand, any technological advance realised are immediately brought to the attention of those involved in extension and implementation. The year following the third seminar has seen fewer new developments in the agricultural sector than the preceding twelve months. Nevertheless, a number of surveys and studies have been completed or are underway and one or two development projects were started.
