Disability Vis-a-Vis Micro and Small Scale Enterprises The Case of Menbere-Mariam Saving and Credit Association, Debrebirhan, Ethiopia

Though micro and small scale enterprises are energetic and vibrant economic sectors which have the largest potential for job creation, access of vocational training, and hiring of persons with disabilities in these enterprises is low. The study examined the challenges of access to training and employment of persons with disabilities in micro and small scale enterprises in Debrebirhan town in the case of Menbere-Mariam saving and credit association. To realize the objective, data collection methods like in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and key informants interviews were used. Purposive sampling method was applied for the study.  The study employed the qualitative method of analysis. Document analysis was used to examine various aspects of the association’s experience of disability. The results of the study reveal that despite the wide range of protection under international, regional, and national laws, vocational training and employment access of persons with disabilities is a problem in the study area. Among the challenges they face are: absence of vocational training, attitudinal related challenges, institutional related barriers, employers related problems, guarantee related problems, barriers linked to project area and shop booths, lose of profit and health problems and problem with provision of infrastructure. Keywords: Disability, Employment, Micro and Small Scale, Enterprises, Vocational Training

Land Degradation in Ethiopia: Causes, Impacts and Rehabilitation Techniques

Land degradation is the common environmental problem in Ethiopia. It is one of the major causes of low and declining agricultural productivity and continuing food insecurity and rural poverty. In addition, land degradation directly affected the type of plant grown on the area, reduced availability of potable water, lessened volumes of surface water, depletion of aquifers and biodiversity loss. The major causes are rapid population increase, severe soil loss, deforestation, low vegetative cover and unbalanced crop and livestock production. Topography, soil types and agro-ecological parameters are also additional factors affecting the land degradation processes in Ethiopia influenced by man. Throughout history, efforts to combat land degradation is focused on physical conservation structures. However, use of vegetative measures is very much limited. Key words: land degradation, rehabilitatio

Physical and socioeconomic driving forces of land use and land cover changes: the case of Hawassa City, Ethiopia

Background and objectives: Hawassa served as the country’s southern region’s capital from 1990 to 2019 and is currently experiencing rapid urbanization. Urban planners use the physical and socioeconomic driving elements of Land Use Land Cover Change (LULCC) to identify the variables influencing the trend of urbanization and then make appropriate plans.Methods: The study primarily employed advanced technologies like Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing to collect and analyze accurate and reliable information. The data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, and key interviews. Finally, the data were analyzed in different ways, using figures and tables, for example. Descriptive and econometric models were also used to analyze the data and probit regression models were used to investigate the impact of urban expansion on the livelihood of displaced farmers in the surrounding area.Findings: Multivariate analysis of variance indicated that the effect of urban expansion on the combined dependent variables, namely, on land use, socioeconomic activities, culture, and environmental change, is statistically significant F(8, 616) =12.704, p = 0.000, Wilk’s Lambda (λ) = .737, partial eta squared(partial η2) = 0.142, observed power = 1.000. Comparatively, the area covered by farmland, built-up areas, and bushland increased from 19.46% to 26.51%, 11.97% to 18.71%, and 3.07% to 4.51%, respectively. The mean score for the level of social relationship and values after land expropriation was 1.7 moderate, with a standard deviation of 0.852 in comparison with the mean score for the level of social relationship and values before land expropriation, which was 3.21 high, with a standard deviation of 0.79. This shows that the land expropriation program negatively affected farmers’ social relationships and values; their social relations levels were high before displacement and between low and moderate after displacement.Conclusion: Policy and strategy gaps in the urban expansion program and this policy issue have hindered the growth of the city and resulted in a serious issue regarding good governance in the area

Evaluation of regional climate models performance in simulating rainfall climatology of Jemma sub-basin, Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia

This study examines the performance of 10 Regional Climate Model (RCM) outputs which are dynamically downscaled from the fifth phase of Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project (CMIP5) GCMs using different RCMs parameterization approaches. The RCMs are evaluated based on their ability to reproduce the magnitude and pattern of monthly and annual rainfall, characteristics of rainfall events and variability related to Sea Surface Temperature (SST) for the period 1981–2005. The outputs of all RCMs showed wet bias, particularly in the higher elevation areas of the sub-basin. Wet bias of annual rainfall ranges from 9.60% in CCLM4 (HadGEM2-ES) model to 110.9% in RCA4 (EC-EARTH) model. JJAS (June-September) rainfall is also characterized by wet bias ranges from 0.76% in REMO (MPI-ESM-LR) model to 100.7% in RCA4 (HadGEM2-ES) model. GCMs that were dynamically downscaled through REMO (Max Planck Institute) and CCLM4 (Climate Limited-Area Modeling) performed better in capturing the rainfall climatology and distribution of rainfall events. However, GCMs dynamically downscaled using RCA4 (SMHI Rossby Center Regional Atmospheric Model) were characterized by overestimation and there are more extreme rainfall events in the cumulative distribution. Most of the RCMs’ rainfall over the sub-basin showed a teleconnection with Sea Surface Temperature (SST) of CMIP5 GCMs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, but weak. The ensemble mean of all 10 RCMs simulations was superior in capturing the seasonal pattern of the rainfall and had better correlation with observed annual (Correl = 0.6) and JJAS season rainfall (Correl = 0.5) than any single model (S-RCM). We recommend using GCMs downscaled using REMO and CCLM4 RCMs and stations based statistical bias correction to manage elevation based biases of RCMs in the Upper Blue Nile Basin, specifically in the Jemma sub-basin

Landscape Transformation and Sustainable Development in Ethiopia: Background information for a study tour through Ethiopia, 4-20 September 2006

This report presents background material used by participants in a joint Ethiopian-Swiss study tour through the north-central highlands of Ethiopia. The main theme of the tour was 'land transformation and sustainable development'. The tour took place from 4-20 September 2006, starting in Addis Abeba and continuing through North Shewa, Wello, Gonder and Gojam. This report is a structured compilation of information gathered by MSc candidates and scientists from the University of Bern prior to the study tour, and supplemented with daily reports by all participants after the study tour was completed

Ethiopia : social and political issues

The complete book of eleven chapters is presented in four sections, respectively covering issues related to governance, health, gender and land. This document encompasses Chapters 1 and 2, which contextualize issues through provision of background history and politics of Ethiopia (Chapter1); and ethnicity, language and education (Chapter2)

Analyzing Factors Affecting the Sustainability of Land Management Practices in Mecha Woreda, Northwestern Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, the practice of land management started three decades ago in order to address the problem of land degradation and to further boost agricultural production. However, the impact of land management practices in curbing land degradation problems and improving the productivity of the agricultural sector is insignificant. Various empirical works have previously identified the determinants of the adoption rate of land management practices. However, the sustainability of land management practices after adoption, and the various factors that control the sustainability of implemented land management practices, are not well addressed. This study analyzed the factors affecting the sustainability of land management practices after implementation in Mecha Woreda, northwestern Ethiopia. The study used 378 sample respondents, selected by a systematic random sampling technique. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the quantitative data, while the qualitative data were qualitatively and concurrently analyzed with the quantitative data. The sustained supply of fodder from the implemented land management practices, as well as improved cattle breed, increases the sustainability of the implemented land management practices. While lack of agreement in the community, lack of enforcing community bylaws, open cattle grazing, lack of benefits of implemented land management practices, acting as barrier for farming practices, poor participation of household heads during planning and decision-making processes, as well as the lack of short-term benefits, reduce the sustainability of the implemented land management practices. Thus, it is better to allow for the full participation of household heads in planning and decision-making processes to bring practical and visible results in land management practices. In addition, recognizing short-term benefits to compensate the land lost in constructing land management structures must be the strategy in land management practices. Finally, reducing the number of cattle and practicing stall feeding is helpful both for the sustainability of land management practices and the productivity of cattle. In line with this, fast-growing fodder grass species have to be introduced for household heads to grow on land management structures and communal grazing fields for stall feeding