Posted on 11/05/2008 9:18:37 AM PST by presidio9
With a slight reeling in his gait, Ashenafi Chote ventures into his small plot of land and shakes his head, his eyes full of regret: "I made a mistake".
For the last 10 years, his plot in southern Ethiopia had kept his family of four alive by supplying enough food to eat and even surplus to sell, in a region often ravaged by drought and food shortages.
But since swapping from a subsistence to a biofuel crop several months ago, his once treasured source of income has dried up and, worse still, he and his family are now dependent on relief from aid agencies.
"I used to get four quintals (100 kilograms, 220 pounds) of maize from my land from every harvest and earn more than 2,400 birr (240 dollars). But now, I have lost my precious source," the 25-year-old father of two said.
"I shouldn't have accepted their offer," he added.
In the sprawling farmlands surrounding Wolaytta district, 350 kilometres (215 miles) south of the capital Addis Ababa, the thorny foliage of castor bean stalks is slowly replacing the swaying maize fields most locals depended on.
As impoverished and landlocked Ethiopia was choked by high oil prices, the government allocated more than 400,000 hectares (988,000 acres) for biofuel crops development as part of a national strategy enacted last year.
Its development was, and still is, highly encouraged, with foreign companies given incentives and a relatively easy process to start up production ventures.
The Horn of Africa nation's vast land expanse of more than a million square kilometres (386,000 square miles), of which only 18 percent has been cultivated, is attracting an increasing amount of foreign suitors involved in the industry.
"It is considered a very important area to develop. The balance of payment (spent on petrol) is very
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
0bama’s fault.
The main thing that is giving me comfort from the result of last night’s election is the fact that now we get to play armchair quarterback for the next four years. Being president in any time other than Clinton’s “vacation from history” just might not be as easy as it has seemed to these dimwits. Starting February first, I intend on beginning every day on my office by asking “Why haven’t we caught bin Laden yet?” Or “Why does the economy still suck?” Or “Where’s my free enery?” Or “I make less than $250,000. How come I’m paying more taxes than I did last year?” Or “How come Secretaries Ayers and Wright still haven’t resigned yet?”
You have the right idea. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
It reminds me of a cartoon a looong time ago in MAD magazine. A big guy was lifting a heavy box and his pants fell down. A little mousey co-worker started laughing at him so the big guy just hands him the heavy box.
Obama better make his "accomplishments" in the first year and half. After 2 years there will be more Republicans in Congress.
Bush's fault.
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