Revisiting the Ethiopian Legal Regime of Warehouse Receipts(WRs): Toward Inclusive Agricultural Finance and Food Security

Abstract

 Food security remains a global priority, calling for innovative approaches to,
among other things, increase food crop production and enhance efficient
utilisation of harvests. The lack of inclusive access to agricultural finance is a
major structural barrier limiting the sector’s ability to support food security in
Ethiopia. Warehouse Receipts (WRs) contribute to tackling both challenges by,
inter alia, unlocking credit and reducing post-harvest losses across food crop value
chains. However, the uptake of WRs in Ethiopia has yet to reach a scale sufficient
to deliver the expected outcomes. This article employs a qualitative, comparative
doctrinal method to assess Ethiopian law governing the legal status,
transferability, and pledging of WRs – particularly Proclamation No. 372/2003
and related instruments – against international best practices reflected in the
UNCITRAL–UNIDROIT Model Law on Warehouse Receipts (MLWR). The
analysis identifies lacunae and ambiguities on (i) the legal status of WRs, (ii)
issuance and governance of electronic WRs, and (iii) rules on “holder” status and
transfer mechanics. It further maps how secured-transactions rules interact with
WR-based lending and highlights points where clearer legislative design is needed
to support predictable collateralization and enforcement. The article proposes
targeted statutory amendments and complementary policy measures to scale
adoption while maintaining inclusivity during digitisation, and it also cautiously
draws lessons from India on scaling inclusive uptake of WRs.