Leaf of Allah: Khat and Agricultural Transformation in Harerge, Ethiopia, 1875-1991 (review)

Khat (kat or chat) is a mild recreational stimulant widely used in the Horn of Africa and on the Arabian Peninsula, equivalent in social context to the kola nut in West Africa. Its infusion is from chewing (not ingesting) the recently harvested leaf. Freshness commands the highest demand and best price; thus the interval from harvesting, to trimming, to sale and consumption must be minimal. Although somewhat addictive, the stimulant's only apparent drawback is that it produces a green mouth and tongue. Khat was historically used in Muslim communities since it moderated hunger during fasting, and in farming and commercial communities, where it energized labor in peak periods.

Ezekiel Gebissa provides a much needed economic history of the industry, focusing on the Harerge region of Ethiopia, where much of it is produced. His research derives from archival sources as well as oral interviews and was the basis of his Ph.D. dissertation. He traces the industry's evolution from Egyptian colonial control, through the imperial reigns of Menilek II and Haile Selassie I, and then into the socialist programs of the military government (Derg). He explores the production, marketing, and consumption of the commodity, providing a rich overview of the economics of khat and the market dynamics of the region.

As an agricultural commodity, khat was initially marginal in Harerge, dwarfed by the sale of high-quality coffee exported internationally. Khat's consumption was largely local. With the arrival of the Franco-Abyssinian railhead at Dire Dawa in 1902, the market for khat expanded, although mostly for the "dried" leaf since rail transport remained inefficient. Demand increased as Harer and Dire Dawa grew into substantial urban centers following the Italian War and as more Christian highlanders settled there. By the 1950s and 1960s, Ethiopian Airlines showed profits from khat's transport. As a revenue-producer, khat came under the purview of both Aden, which sought to limit import and reduce revenue drain, and of Ethiopia, which endeavored to gain a better share of revenues through taxation. Such policies led to the development of parallel markets with khat as contraband. These parallel markets exploded in the 1980s under the Derg, which imposed its own control through the use of marketing boards.

Khat soon replaced coffee as the region's leading export. Gebissa explores the "calculated" decisions made by local farmers to reassess production. Decisions were based in part upon proximity to transportation, since coffee was less perishable and not as dependent upon "instant" marketing. The coffee industry was initially much more regulated and taxed than was the industry for khat, and coffee was certainly more labor intensive and also open to the vagaries of weather and disease. Once khat reached a certain threshold of profitability, even local food production was reduced as wealthier farmers opted to purchase their families' food.

As a student of both economic and agricultural history, Gebissa sees his informants (merchants and farmers) as people who are both calculating and savvy, knowledgeable about local conditions and quite able to empower themselves. Thus they are not at the mercy of greedy governments and international markets to the degree one might believe. What is missing in the book, however, is any deeper investigation of the cultural aspects of khat for both the Muslim and Christian communities. Also, the author might have done more to tie his analysis in Harerge more firmly to the broader Ethiopian economy. He does a good job of providing an understanding of the local markets and of those in Somalia and Yemen. But khat consumption in Addis Ababa and the provincial capitals is considerable. Where does khat for those communities come from and what is the impact on the national economy? But even with these unanswered questions, Leaf of Allah provides new insight into a little explored aspect of Ethiopia's economic history...