It was the middle of the rainy season. In the old days we planted chickpea on deep, rich soil at the end of the rainy season so it would grow on the remaining moisture. When rains are good, we still do this. But when the rains look unreliable, we plant it on poor soil during the season. Barley is another crop we plant when we expect poor rains.
Wheat needs good rains.
The careless and the lazy had problems to get seed after they returned. But for most of us, no matter what calamity befalls, we bury seed in pots in sheltered places. The affluent world, through the IMF and the World Bank, has imposed structural adjustment on Ethiopia, and claims that it is a success. But it will matter if the Govern-ment and the rich nations of the world offer farmers no help. Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher is the son of a peasant-farmer priest from Tigray.