An assessment of the socio-economic impact of HIV/AIDS on agricultural production in Ethiopia: The case of Ada’a district in Eastern Showa province in Ethiopia

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS)Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) which is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is not only an epidemiological problem but also one of the developmental challenges in developing countries. The epidemic is severely affecting the productive part of the population (15 to 49 age range), that is believed to be ‘the motor of development’. Ethiopia is one of the Sub-Saharan African countries whose economy is affected by the epidemic. The country is assigned along with India, China, Nigeria and Russia as the ‘next wave of HIV/AIDS’ with large populations at risk from HIV infection, that will overtake the current epidemic prevalence rate in central and southern Africa (NIC, 2002). The epidemic is also among the challenges facing the agricultural sector of the country which provides half of the country’s GDP. Although agriculture is the backbone of the economy, little effort has been made to estimate the impact of the epidemic and many existing studies focus on urban areas instead of rural areas. Therefore, the research reported on in this thesis assesses the extent and channels of the impact of HIV/AIDS on agricultural production. The research measured the extent of the impact of the epidemic on factors of production such as labor, capital stock and land use, which are the determinants of agricultural production. The research was conducted in Ada’a district in Eastern Showa province, Ethiopia, which is one of the top agricultural production areas of the country and also one of the most vulnerable areas for HIV/AIDS. Stratified random sampling and judgmental sampling techniques were employed to identify sample cases. In addition, both primary and secondary data sources were used to gather the required data/information. The primary sources of data collection methods include PRA, individual interviews, focus groups, photographs and observations. Secondary sources include reports from governmental and nongovernmental organizations, health centers, agricultural bureaus, books, newspapers, the internet, etc. The collected data was analyzed by using spread sheets-2003. The interpretation of the results was supported by graphs, tables and photos. Two stages of ordinary least square (OLS) estimation were done. The first stage was to estimate the impact of HIV/AIDS on production factors whereas the second stage estimation was done to estimate the impact of HIV/AIDS on output (income) of farmers via the impacts on factors of production. The findings of the analysis indicated that HIV/AIDS has been affecting factors of production significantly, i.e. by reducing labor-hours, depleting the capital stock of farmers and by its impact on the use of land (reducing the amount of land cultivated). The findings also indicated that HIV/AIDS has been decreasing the agricultural income of farmers

Determinants of household dietary diversity in Yayu Biosphere Reserve, Southwest Ethiopia

Lack of dietary diversity is a severe problem among the poor in the developing world, including Ethiopia. Empirical evidence for factors contributing to low dietary diversity hardly exists. The objective of this study was to analyze determinants of Household Dietary Diversity and consumption behavior in Yayu biosphere reserve, South-West Ethiopia. A cross sectional survey was conducted on 183 randomly selected households. Primary data were collected from sample households through interviews, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Secondary data were collected by reviewing different documents. Descriptive statistics and econometric models were used for analyzing quantitative data. The ordered logit model was employed to determine the influence of explanatory variables on the dependent variable. The average household dietary diversity score was 5.5±1.7SD. About 17.5% of the sampled households belonged to low, 61.2% to medium and 21.3% to high dietary diversity. The age of the household head, education, income, access to irrigation, home gardening and dietary diversity awareness affected household dietary diversity positively and significantly and distance from market negatively. In conclusion, policy and development interventions should target education and awareness creation tools to provide households up to date nutritional knowledge and agricultural technologies to increase production and income, and thereby enhance household dietary diversity

Staying or Leaving? Analyzing the Rationality of Rural-Urban Migration Associated with Farm Income of Staying Households: A Case Study from Southern Ethiopia

The research aims at analyzing the effect of rural-urban migration and remittances on farm income of rural households supported by a case study conducted in Southern Ethiopia. Using two-step estimations to measure the effect of outmigration, migrant sending families have gained higher farm income. In this regard, rural outmigration has been found to be a survival and income diversification strategy in the study area

Staying or Leaving? Analyzing the Rationality of Rural-Urban Migration Associated with Farm Income of Staying Households: A Case Study from Southern Ethiopia

The research aims at analyzing the effect of rural-urban migration and remittances on farm income of rural households supported by a case study conducted in Southern Ethiopia. Using two-step estimations to measure the effect of outmigration, migrant sending families have gained higher farm income. In this regard, rural outmigration has been found to be a survival and income diversification strategy in the study area

Economic impact of rural-urban migration on income and poverty of migrant sending rural households

The thesis aims at analyzing the effect of rural-urban migration and remittances on income and poverty of rural households supported by a case study conducted in Southern Ethiopia. The study has also suggested conditions where rural-urban migration is a rational decision for migrant sending households taking to account the main driving forces of rural out-migration. Using two stage estimations to measure the effect of out-migration, migrant sending families have gained both in terms of total and per capita farm income. In addition, the effect of migration has reduced not only the incidence of poverty but also depth and severity of poverty. Rural out-migration has been a rational decision for migrant sending poor households. In this regard, rural out-migration has been found to be a survival and income diversification strategy. Finally, the research has been concluded by suggesting some policy recommendations on ways of making rural-urban migration compatible for development

Determinants of households’ willingness to pay for the conservation of church forests in northwestern Ethiopia: A contingent valuation study

Church forests provide secured habitat for plants and animals, seed banks for native plants, source of food and medicines, income source and reduce soil erosion. They are threatened by livestock grazing, harvesting of timber and non-timber forest products, conversion to farmlands and the replacement of indigenous trees by economically important tree species. So, this study aimed to estimate households’ willingness to pay for the conservation of church forests using double-bounded contingent valuation method followed by open-ended questions. The study specifically aimed to assess the households’ willingness to pay decision, to elicit households’ willingness to pay in terms of cash and labor and to analyze factors affecting households’ maximum willingness to pay. A total of 300 households was selected using a multistage sampling technique followed by a probability proportional to sample size. The result indicated that the mean willingness to pay of the respondents in cash and labor is 178 ETB and 71.51 man-days per year, respectively. On the other hand, the model result indicated that annual income, social position, membership to mahiber/senbete and size of the land near to church forest had a significant and positive effect on the households’ willingness to pay, whereas dependency ratio had a significant and negative effect. The findings imply that policymakers as well as policies designed at national level should consider annual income, dependency ratio, social position, membership to mahiber/senbete and land size near to church forest variables to design conservation practices for church forests

Small-scale irrigation and its effect on food security of rural households in North-West Ethiopia: A comparative analysis

Agriculture is a limiting factor for food security in Ethiopia as more than 80% of the population depends on it for livelihoods. In many parts of the country, the frequency and distribution of rainfall and the principal source of water for crop production are getting more unreliable and inadequate and frequent droughts, make irrigation farming indispensable. Despite the high potential for irrigation, the study area remained to be one of the food insecure districts in the region and currently it is supported by the productive safety net program. Information is also missing on the extent to which households who have access to irrigation produce more than those who depend on rainfed agriculture. The study contributes to a comparative analysis of the effect of small scale irrigation. The aim of the study was to analyze the effect of small scale irrigation on the food security of rural households. Data were collected from 185 randomly selected rural households in the Goncha-SisoEnesie district of northwest Ethiopia. Descriptive analysis, household food balance model and binary logit regression were employed as tools of data analysis. The result revealed that out of all sampled households, 74% were food secured and 26% were not. The gap in food calorie availability was high ranging from 753-6659 kcal/adult equivalent/day in the study area. Out of 84 irrigation users, 84.5% of them were food secured; whereas only 65.3% of the total 101 non-irrigation users were food secured. In this study, household size, farmland size, access to irrigation, access to credit services, and income from rainfed crop production were the determinant factors of household food security. Small scale irrigation had a direct and indirect positive effect on enhancing household food security status. Thus, the concerned development partners and policymakers should consider the promotion and expansion of irrigated farming in the area

Determinants of adoption of land management practices among farmers in Western Lake Tana and Beles River watersheds (Ethiopia) as a climate change adaptation strategy

AbstractThis study analyzes farmers’ decisions to use land management adaptation practices in the face of climate change. It also looks at the socio-economic elements that influence adaptation practices. To collect primary data, a multistage and simple random sampling procedure was used to choose a sample of 338 farmers. The data was analyzed using a multivariate probit model. The results reveal that a farmer’s likelihood of adopting a specific land management adaptation measure is linked to and defined by a set of complementary adaptation measures. Grade bund terracing (97.1%), contour plowing (96.9%), adequate waterway (88.4%), compost preparation (84.3%), hedge planting (73.4%), and mulching (66.6%) were the most commonly chosen land management adaptation measures, followed by afforestation (61.2%), gulley rehabilitation (57.8%), woodlot implementation (55.5%), and area closure (55.4%). This shows that grade bund terracing and contour plowing are the most likely chosen land management adaptation practices while area closure is the less likely choice of practice. Land management adaptation strategies by farmers had a combined chance of success of 96 %, compared to a combined probability of failure. The implication is that farmers will utilize a combination of land management strategies to address climate change variables. The results also demonstrate that the sex, family size, farm experience, frequency of extension visits, and farmers’ level of education have a substantial impact on the common underlying socioeconomic component for choosing land management adaption techniques. As a result, developing a package of land management adaptation methods is critical for possible climate change treatments and strategies