Abraham Belay (PhD), minister of Irrigation & Lowlands, has placed a five-fold budget increase from the Ministry of Finance to address mounting delays and flaws in its irrigation projects, subjected to soaring costs.

The Ministry to which he was appointed this year, replacing Aisha M. Mussa, operates with an annual budget of eight billion Birr; he now presses for an additional 32 billion Br to complete 11 projects remaining suspended. The decision to halt progress on these irrigation schemes, most of which have been mired in delays and cost overruns, revealed the scale of the difficulties facing a country that introduced modern irrigation more than half a century ago yet still struggles to achieve meaningful results.

Ethiopia possesses 12 river basins with an annual runoff estimated at 122 billion cubic meters and up to four million hectares of irrigable land, however less than a 10th of this potential is currently utilised. The irrigation projects that were under feasibility study and design — Walga, Asnoz, Zenti, Gudder, Gamuna, Ayma, Abaya, and Tinishua Abay — have been suspended indefinitely. Three others, Sharma, Shafe, and Daws, have also been put on hold after shoddy designs led to problems during construction.

Addressing lawmakers last week, Abraham blamed poorly designed projects, inadequate feasibility studies, and a persistent lack of national standards for his Ministry's budget woes.

Some of the projects, including Shinile, Anger, and Giede, had been initiated without adequate design work and were initially slated for completion this fiscal year. Instead, they are now examples of how poor planning, lengthy design reviews, and security threats can derail infrastructure efforts meant to ensure food security. The Minister, who has opted not to start any new irrigation initiatives this year, has pledged to focus on resuming the ongoing projects with proper design revisions.

He argued that attempting new projects in the face of these problems could result in dam and canal failures and, in some cases, floods.

"We aren't starting new projects for the year," he said. "We need to give priority to the ones we have started."

It is a position intended to prioritise quality over-expansion, a message that comes after repeated construction delays and missed deadlines have strained confidence in government-led irrigation drives. The Ministry’s push to bring these projects back on track includes reviewing and revising their designs and conducting more thorough feasibility studies.

Minister Abraham has been pressing Ahmed Shide, minister of Finance, for a monthly cash flow to restart these projects.

Beyond the budgetary strain, the Ministry struggles with persistent underperformance. The agricultural sector contributes almost 32.1pc to the country’s 2.4 trillion Br in GDP, employs more than 60pc of its workforce, and accounts for 80pc of exports. Yet, it remains stuck in a cycle of subsistence farming that is highly vulnerable to erratic rainfall. While irrigation is widely seen as a remedy, many schemes have failed to deliver the intended results.

In southern Gonder of the Amhara Regional State, two large irrigation dams — Reb and Megech — were planned to support wheat, onion, potato, and cabbage production for 35,000 farmers across 20,000hct. Yet, they remain largely unutilised, a glaring example of how grand ambitions can fall flat. According to Awoke Zelalem, an expert at the Amhara Bureau of Agriculture, the region's water resource has the potential to develop two million hectares with irrigation. However, a mere 300,000hct has so far been cultivated, benefiting nearly a million farmers.

"Many irrigation projects have failed to meet their objectives," he said.

Another is the 100-million-dollar Adabecho irrigation project, in the East and Southwest Shoa zones of Oromia Regional State, funded by the government of South Korea. It was designed to cover 4,637hct but could be marred by right-of-way disputes, as regional states and city administrations failed to compensate farmers adequately and on time, leaving the Ministry’s plans bogged down in legal and logistical limbo. Minister Abraham criticised regional states for not paying sufficient and timely compensation, urging them to settle claims to free stalled projects.

Members of Parliament, displeased with the delays, demanded accountability.

"We need answers," said Balew Baye (PhD), an MP-PP.

He cited an irrigation project in Fogera, Amhara Regional State, that has been stalled for many years, leaving farmers without the promised benefits. Another legislator, Meseret Dibalo, representing a constituency in South Ethiopia Regional State, complained about a delayed project in the Western Abaya district of Gamo zone. Although feasibility studies were completed and initial promises made, construction never commenced.