A SOCIO-ECONOMIC HISTORY OF GOLOLCHA WOREDA, ARSI ZONE

ABSTRACT The primary objective of this research is to explore the social and economic history of the Gololcha District between 1991 and 2015. To do this, an effort was undertaken to gather qualitative data from local elders, officers, and the administration office's archives. Additionally, the written materials related to the study were evaluated and double-checked. The Gololcha District engages in a variety of economic activities, including agriculture, Livestock rearing and trade. The Gololcha District community's economy is based primarily on agriculture. This is due to the fact that the majority of rural populations rely on agriculture for a living. The majority of the rural districts in Gololcha District have relied on agriculture as a source of income for a very long time. Root crops, certain cereals, primarily barley and maize, and animal husbandry are the main agricultural activity in the district. Similarly, a portion of the population in the Gololcha district engaged in mixed agriculture, which combines subsistence farming with animal husbandry. On the other hand, cattle breeding and trade also play a major role in the socio-economic development of the district. The district's second-largest source of income generation is from the rearing of livestock. The main cash crops in the Gololcha District are coffee and chat. Grain and cattle commerce are the two main sorts of trade activity that the district's indigenous people engage in it. The essential structures and systems that a district or area uses to receive services are referred to as infrastructure service. Education, telecommunication, water supply, energy, health service, transportation or road construction, and postal services are some of the important infrastructure. The community in the district has been helping each other by pooling their resources in the way of Afoosha and Iqqubi to help one another in happy and sad times, strengthening the socio economic status of the populace. However, contemporary financial institutions have opened up in the area, such Ethiopian Commercial Bank, to assist the locals in their financial endeavors.