esult, there was opposition to the transfer of aid to famine victims there. The government of Ethiopia, for political reasons partly to do with the revolution, was unwilling to declare and emergency and were reluctant to allow access to relief organizations to the affected communities for aid. Therefore, Western relief assistance went only to restricted areas, where government controlled the structure of the military confilicts which obstructed efforts to reach those victims in need. Wars between government troops and liberation fronts in those affected areas soon became the blame for the destruction and famine. War makes it impossible to get food to the people. "The 1984-85 famine was in fact a political crisis characterized more appropriately by was than by drought". (10.5)
             Although focusing on Ethiopia, the widespread problem of famine affects nearly the entire African continent. From food trades and imports/exports to the movement of victims, each country plays a role in the effectiveness of human physical geography.
             Most famine conditions in Ethiopia have been associated with crop failures due to drought, flood, war, and lack of proper government intervention and development. Various climatic factors, especially insufficient rainfall, can affect the quality of agriculture, causing immediate destruction of crops, sanitary water supply and markets to be used for future cultivation. "One of Ethiopia's great misfortunes is that rainfall is not dependable". (10.10) Drought occurs when there is an insufficient amount of moisture at the right time available for crops. Because of its direct effects on agricultural production in sub Saharan Africa, the issue of lack of rainfall should not be ignored in development planning. Although nature is often blamed by man, Africa seems to experience prolonged drought as a result of man's interference with nature.
             The effects of drought and famine in Ethiopia are contributed to th...