Poverty, Resource Scarcity and Incentives for Soil and Water Conservation: Analysis of Interactions with a Bio-economic Model

The paper examines the interlinkages between population pressure and poverty, possible impacts on household welfare and land management, and the consequent pathways of development in a low potential rural economy. A dynamic non-separable bio-economic model, calibrated using data from the Ethiopian highlands, is used to trace key relationships between population pressure, poverty and soil fertility management in smallholder agriculture characterized by high levels of soil degradation. Farm households maximize their discounted utility over the planning horizon. Land, labor and credit markets are imperfect. Hence, production, consumption and investment decisions are jointly determined in each period. The level of soil degradation is endogenous and has feedback effects on the stock and quality of the resource base. This may in turn influence land management choices. Under high population pressure, land becomes dearer relative to labor. This is likely to induce conservation investments, especially when conservation technologies do not take land out of production. When markets are imperfect, poverty in vital assets (e.g., oxen and labor) limits the ability or the willingness to invest in conservation and may lead to a less sustainable pathway. Boserup-type responses are more likely when (privately) profitable technologies exist and market imperfections do not limit farm-households' investment options.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Analysis of Adoption Spell of Hybrid Maize in the Central Rift Valley, Oromyia National Regional State of Ethiopia: A Duration Model Approach

This paper estimates farm household level determinants of the speed of adoption of hybrid maize in the central rift valley of Ethiopia in the  framework of the dynamic time on cross-sectional data. Descriptive statistics and duration model were used to study the objectives of the study. The results from descriptive analysis showed that 85% of the farmers adopted hybrid maize at the survey time and more than 50% of the adopters started adopting hybrid maize within two years after they became aware of the varieties and the remaining started adopting afterwards but at a decreasing rate. The adoption pattern of farmers has also differed by gender and location. Duration model estimation results revealed that factors that influenced timing of hybrid maize adoption varied by the type of influence. Whereas house hold size, access to extension services and maize market participation accelerated the adoption of hybrid maize at increasing rate, age of household head and livestock ownership retarded the adoption. Operated land and unit price of seed worked towards accelerated adoption but at diminishing rate. Thus to speed up adoption of hybrid maize policies may need to give primary focus to the different categories of adopters, providing adequate extension information and reorienting the mindset of the farmers towards market orientation and household labor efficiency. Also, policies should identify particular roles of the different determinant factors and target the associating socio-economic setup of the smallholders

Assessment of local land and water institutions in the Blue Nile and their impact on environmental management

Land and water institutions play a vital role in managing and sustaining land and water resources as well as enhancing economic development and poverty alleviation efforts. While a lot has been done in terms of understanding the micro-determinants of farmers’ decisions in land and water conservation, there is little attempt to understand the broad macro-institutional and organizational issues that influence land and water management decisions. The objective of the study was to assess institutional arrangements and challenges for improved land and water management in the Ethiopian part of the Blue Nile Basin (Tana and Beles subbasins). Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were held in Amhara and Benishangul Gumuz regions with important stakeholders such as the bureaus of Agriculture and Rural Development, Water Resources Development, Environmental Protection and Land Use Administration (EPLUA), National Agricultural Research Systems, and important NGOs, operating in the area of land and water management, and selected community members. As the major findings in this study, we outlined major land and water-related institutional arrangements that are currently in place and their design features, in order to identify those institutions related to superior performance. We highlighted major institutional and policy gaps and actions that are required to respond to emerging issues of environmental degradation, upstream/downstream linkages and climate change. Such analysis of institutions and their design features provides useful insights and contributes to the debate on institutional reform for improved land and water management in the Blue Nile Basin, in general. By doing so, it identifies the gaps in institutional arrangements and policies and potential remedies.Length: pp.185-231InstitutionsOrganizationsWater policyRiver basinsWater managementLand managementWatershed management

Adsorption of Methyl Red on Coal Fly Ash from Aqueous Solution

The discharge of highly colored effluents into natural water bodies is aesthetically displease impedes light penetration, as a result disrupt biological processes within stream and thus treatment is required before discharge into a water body. In the present study, coal fly ash generated from coal based thermal power plant has been used as low-cost and effective adsorbent for the removal of methylene red dye from an aqueous solution. Chemical treatment of coal fly ash was carried out before adsorption with 10% sulfuric acid to improve its surface area. The influence of adsorbent dose, initial dye concentration and contact time at room temperature and pH of 6.8 on removal of the dye has been studied. It was found that, percentage removal of the dye increases by increasing adsorbent dose, initial dye concentration and contact time. The optimum condition of contact time, adsorbent dose and initial dye concentration found were 120 min, 1 g and 25 mg/L respectively. Adsorption data was fitted well on both Langmuir and Freundlich Isotherm models. Keywords: Methyl red dye, Adsorption, Coal fly ash, Isotherm model

Neuroendocrine differentiation in a case of cervical cancer

Neuroendocrine neoplasms may occur in the uterine cervix, although rarely; it accounts for 0.5-1% of all malignant tumors of the uterine cervix. A case report of an Ethiopian female presented at the Gynecology Out-Patient Clinic at Jimma University Hospital, complaining from irregular vaginal bleeding over the previous three months. Clinically there was a cauliflower cervical mass; histopathologically it was formed of sheets of small cell tumor; that further showed neuroendocrine differentiation, as demonstrated by chromogranin-A positivity. It is important to differentiate small cell carcinoma from other malignant tumors of the uterine cervix. Morphological features play an important role in making a diagnosis and the immunohistochemistry study can offer an additional useful assistance

Evaluation of current and future water resources development in the Lake Tana Basin, Ethiopia

Lakes / Weirs / Environmental flows / Water resources development / Models / Ethiopia / Lake Tana Basin / Chara Chara Weir

Determinants of Agricultural Technology adoption: the case of improved groundnut varieties in Malawi

This paper applies the Average Treatment Effect (ATE) framework on data obtained from a random cross-section sample of 594 farmers in Malawi to document the actual and potential adoption rates of improved groundnut varieties and their determinants conditional on farmers’ awareness of the technology. The fact that not all farmers are exposed to the new technologies makes it difficult to obtain consistent estimates of population adoption rates and their determinants using direct sample estimates and classical adoption models such as probit or tobit. Our approach tries to control for exposure and selection bias in assessing the adoption rate of technology and its determinants. Results indicate that only 26% of the sampled farmers grew at least one of the improved groundnut varieties. The potential adoption rate of improved groundnut for the population is estimated at 37% and the adoption gap resulting from the incomplete exposure of the population to the improved groundnut is 12%. We further find that the awareness of improved varieties is mainly influenced by information access variables, while adoption is largely influenced by economic constraints. The findings are indicative of the relatively large unmet demand for improved groundnut varieties suggesting that there is scope for increasing the adoption rate of improved groundnut varieties in Malawi once the farmers are made aware of the technologies and if other constraints such as lack of access to credit are addressed.groundnuts, adoption, Average Treatment Effect, Malawi, Crop Production/Industries,

The Impact of Soil and Water Conservation Program on the Income and Productivity of Farm Households in Adama District, Ethiopia

Land degradation due to soil erosion and nutrient depletion is one of the main problems constraining the development of the agricultural sector in Ethiopia. As part of intervention activities a number of soil and water conservation (SWC) practices have been promoted to smallholder farmers living in highly degraded and drought prone areas of the country. This study was conducted to assess the impact of SWC intervention on the livelihood of smallholder farm households in terms household income and productivity. To meet this objective primary data was gathered in 2012 from 101 SWC program participants and 115 non-participants that were randomly selected from 3 intervention area and 3 counterfactual villages respectively. Descriptive and inferential statistics and propensity score matching (PSM) models were used to address the stated objectives. Results of the descriptive statistics showed that before matching there was statistically significant difference between program participants and their counterfactual households in terms of sex and age of household head, family size and farm size generally in favor of program participants. Results of the PSM model revealed that SWC intervention did not result in significant difference between program participant and nonparticipant households in terms of total crop and household income, and crop yield. However it was to be noted that there were positive trends which all together should guide SWC policy makers to identify important factors influencing the contribution of such a program and reconsider the design and implementation of the interventionsKeywords: Soil and water, Conservation practices, Impact, Oromia regio

Population Status, Foraging and Diurnal Activity Patterns of Oribi (Ourebia ourebi) in Senkele Swayne’s Hartebeest Sanctuary, Ethiopia

The study on the population status, foraging behaviour and diurnal activity pattern of oribi (Ourebia ourebi) was carried out in Senkele Swayne’s Hartebeest Sanctuary from August 2005 to March 2006 during the wet and dry seasons. Direct observation on selected oribi groups was made to study activity patterns. Total count method was used in an area of 28 km2. The count of oribi in the study area ranged between 45 and 57 during the wet and dry seasons, respectively. There was no significant difference between the wet and dry season count (p>0.05). The sex ratio of adult males to females was 1.00:1.26. Oribi were mostly observed as solitary or in pairs, occasionally forming small groups. Oribi distribution showed preference to grazing on short grass (Themeda triandra) in each vegetation community. The distribution of oribi during the wet and dry seasons was similar in all vegetation communities. However, the tendency of population for wider distribution increased in the Pennisetum grassland. The annual mean proportion of daylight hours spent feeding by oribi was 54.7%. Morning and evening activity peaks were most obvious during the dry season, with most animals remaining inactive during the midday and hottest hours of the day. Large number of settled human communities in and around the Sanctuary and herds of livestock were frequently observed mainly during the wet season. Overgrazing and settlement encroachment are the major factors that could affect the population status of oribi by lowering the grass quality in the Sanctuary