Böcker av Yeraswork Admassie

In recent years, Ethiopia has experienced a rapid expansion of Khat production, marketing and consumption that has put her in a double bind. Her economy is becoming increasingly dependent on the production and export of Khat, the same way a significant section of her population is getting progressively enticed into its unbridled consumption. Khat abuse/addiction has led to serious and manifold socioeconomic problems including those relating to health. In spite of the fact that several millions of her citizens are preoccupied with Khat in the capacities of growers, traders, and chewers, the country has no clear policy to guide its production, distribution or use. The study, the findings of which are reported in this volume, focused on the unravelling the intertwined socioeconomic impacts of Khat consumption and addiction, and culminates with the identification of feasible national-level strategies and policy responses to the Khat conundrum.

Araqe is a traditional home-distilled beverage that is made from an assortment of cereals such as wheat, sorghum and maize, and has a high level of ethanol. A ubiquitous feature of present day Ethiopian society, with the exception of the predominantly Muslim communities, Araqe is more than the alcoholic drink of choice for people living in rural and small towns. Thanks to its qualities of divisibility, long shelf-life, portability, and high unit value, it is also an important commodity that is produced by, traded between, and consumed in most rural and urban areas of the country. Its negative effects notwithstanding, it is a major object of exchange that ties cities to their rural hinterlands and with one another, thus becoming an important component of the social fabric of the society. It is an important social fact that cannot be dismissed as a fringe phenomenon. But in spite of the substantial amount of araqe that is distilled, traded, and consumed within the informal sector, and the important place it holds in the socioeconomic fabric of the society, no comprehensive study has to date been undertaken on its interrelated aspects at a national level. The general objective of this study is to assess and document the processes (origin, introduction and spread), patterns (arenas, manners), trends (currently evolving forms and future directions), as well as impacts (on environment, economy, social, health and security) of the production, marketing, and consumption of the homemade liquor, araqe, with the ultimate aim of indicating how and to what extent these factors contribute to economic development/stagnation and social cohesion/disruption in rural Ethiopia in particular as well as the country at large.