Let me be honest: this is an area I know nothing about until I read the paper by Simone Cinotto. Below is a brief extact from how the strategy was resisted – particularly by Ethiopian women.

Here it is in full:

the-fascist-breadbasketDownload

Quote from a settler:

We built forts, we were armed, but we could not move around for fear of the
Ethiopian guerrilla, which cut our supply lines. Then we were supplied with flour
and other essential food items from airplanes, without parachutes, so much of
the food got lost. (Taddia 1988, 132)
The Italian East African system of food logistics was not only complex but frail
as a consequence of the effectiveness of the Ethiopian Resistance at incapacitating
it.

The participation of Ethiopian women in anti-Italian warfare activities was
remarkable, and not limited to securing, transporting, and supplying food to
the groups of combatants they were part of – women carried utensils and
pots, fetched water, chopped wood, foraged for wild plants, ground grains,
and prepared teff injera, doro wat, tej, and tella to feed partisans. Some
Ethiopian women participated in the resistance as fighting soldiers, while
others served as messengers and spies, with the goal of starving the Italian
enemy. An inspiring precedent was set for partisan women by Empress Taytu
Betul (1851–1918) leading Ethiopian forces at Adwa (March 1, 1896). Taytu’s
superior savviness was demonstrated in the battle of Amba Alage, when
defeated Italian brigades had regrouped in the fort of Makalle: instead of
ordering an attack, Taytu gave the order to besiege the Italians and cut off
their water supply. After two weeks, Italians, suffering from extreme shortage
of water, unconditionally surrendered (Adugna 2001). Literature on Ethiopian
women’s participation in the anticolonial struggles against Italians of 1935–
1941 emphasizes their winning victories with bravery, intelligence, and
scheming: stealing rifles, bullets, grenades, and classified information from
the Italians they socialized with; smuggling firearms in pots for fetching
water; sneaking through Italian lines and into Italian garrisons with the excuse
of selling chickens, eggs, and butter (Adugna 2001).