AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE – GRADUATION
.....
From the beginnings of recorded history, right up to the Middle Ages, and
even as late as the beginning of the Industrial Age in which we live,
agriculture has always constituted the fundamental source of wealth for the
human race .....
It gives Us great pleasure to be present
here to inaugurate the College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts, an occasion
which marks a great and far-reaching advance in Our programme for the promotion
of agricultural education. This institution will serve as a source of inspiration
in carrying out the agricultural programme which We have laid down for the
future.
In establishing this College for the
development of the natural wealth of Our country, agriculture and animal
husbandry, on modern and scientific lines, Our main purpose has not been merely
to develop and utilize these basic resources to supply the daily needs of Our
people, but, in addition, to produce a surplus to be shared with other
countries of the world. Ethiopia, to some degree, has done this in the past. For
example, when the world was sorely distressed by lack of food immediately after
the Second World War, Our country, although she herself had for five long years
been struggling to recover from the terrible damage inflicted upon her during
the war, was yet able to perform a significant service in supplying foodstuffs
to the countries of the Middle East. And We have been pleased to observe how,
since then, Our people have increasingly devoted themselves to improving the
agriculture of Our country.
A country and a people that become
self-sufficient by the development of agriculture can look forward with
confidence to the future.
Agriculture is not only the chief among
those fundamental and ancient tasks which have been essential to the survival
of mankind, but also ranks first among the prerequisites to industrial and
other developments.
Solid Agricultural Base
History affords Us ample evidence that
mankind abandoned its nomadic way of life and developed a settled, communal
economy only when man became skilled and competent in agricultural techniques.
From the beginnings of recorded history, right up to the Middle Ages, and even
as late as the beginning of the Industrial Age in which we now live,
agriculture has always constituted the fundamental source of wealth for the
human race.
Only when a solid agricultural base has
been laid for Our country’s commercial and industrial growth can We ensure the
attainment of the ultimate goal of Our development programme, namely, a high
standard of living for Our people. Commerce and industry, being concerned in
the main with production and distribution, can only develop and profit from
existing resources, but cannot actually create things which did not exist
before.
Most of the districts of Our Harar
Province are populated mainly by nomadic people. Now that We are in a position
to anticipate an adequate water supply from the rivers and wells in the region,
the area will flourish and land will no longer lie fallow in the province if
only the people of Ogaden, Esa and Adal could be educated in agricultural
techniques. All this can be attained only by means of the wisdom which flows
from the fountain of education. While this College will serve the whole of Our
country, its being established in the Province of Harar is the result of
careful planning and consideration on Our part.
Even
in this nuclear age, in spite of the revolutionary changes in man’s way of life
which science has brought about, the problem of further improving and
perfecting agricultural methods continues to hold a position of high priority
for the human race. It is hard to believe that a substitute can ever be found
for the occupation of agriculture – a sacred task graciously conferred upon man
by God to serve as the source of his well-being and the basis of his wealth.
Share and Exchange
Our country, Ethiopia, being blessed with
an abundance of natural resources need not be anxious about her own needs.
However, it is Our constant endeavour and Our firm desire, that Our people will
produce not only enough to meet their own requirements but that their
production will enable them to share and exchange the fruits of their labour
with other countries.
If only Ethiopia, with an assured wealth
of natural resources, would look at what the barren Sahara Desert has been made
to produce by the endeavour of trained scientists, she would realize that
science is a source of wealth. We would, therefore, have Our students and
scholars accept as their primary duty the attainment of scientific knowledge
through education.
We have placed Our trust in this College
to be the chief instrument for the attainment of this high goal, and We are
confident that the students who have today received their diplomas from Our
hands, as well as those who follow them in the future, will through their
achievements furnish Us with tangible evidence of the fulfillment of this Our
purpose and Our desire.
Agriculture and industry are indispensable
one to the other. Only close co-operation between these two branches of knowledge
can guarantee the fulfillment of Our programme of economic development for Our
country.
This
College, which holds a prominent place in the plans We have laid down for the
prosperity and welfare of Our beloved people and country, can look forward to
receiving the same constant support which We have shown in the past.
It is with pleasure that We express on
this occasion Our gratitude to Our great friend, the United States of America,
for the generous and significant assistance they have given to this institution
as part of their great effort for the development of the spirit of cooperation
and understanding among the nations of the world. We would request His
Excellency the Ambassador to convey Our thanks to his Government.
If the late Dr. Bennet, who laid the plans
for this institution and whose great desire and tireless efforts to achieve the
establishment of an Agricultural and Mechanical College in this country are
well-known to Us, were with Us today to see the fulfillment of his plans, how
happy he would have been! With deep sorrow in Our heart, remembering the words
“Man proposes, God disposes,” We pay a tribute to his memory in this hour.
We would like to express Our sincere
thanks to the Director of the Point Four Programme in this country, the
President and staff of this College, and all of Our officials who have laboured
to bring this institution into being.
It is not enough for the children of
Ethiopia to be recipients of education. They should never forget that the
responsibility for passing on this knowledge to others and of handing it over
to the next generation rests on them.
Jan. 16, 1958.
Selected Speeches of His
Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie – page 5 –
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| "Just as a farm that is not taken care of cannot be free of weeds, so is also the development of a society." |
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