Factors Affecting Market Outlet Choice of Potato Producers in Eastern Hararghe Zone, Ethiopia

Selection of appropriate channel for delivering farm products is not an easy task. There are various constraints that limit households in choosing appropriate channels. In this regard, the current study was aimed at identifying factors affecting channel choice decisions of potato producers in Ethiopia. The analysis is based on primary data collected from 400 farm households selected from three randomly selected districts in eastern part of Oromiya region, Ethiopia. Multinomial logit model was employed for analyzing the data. The results indicated that farming experience, distance to the nearest market, access to market information, amount of potato sold, post-harvest value addition, and bargaining power of farmers affect channel choice decisions in one way or another. Putting in place and strengthening institutions that deliver timely and appropriate market information is among the major recommendations of this study.   Keywords: Channel choice decision, Ethiopia, Market outlets, Multinomial logit, Potato Value Chai

Determinants of Highland Bamboo (Yushania alpina) Culm Supply: The Case of Loma and Tocha Districts, Dawuro Zone of Southern Ethiopia

The overall objective of this research was to increase better understand of the challenges that influence highland bamboo culm supply in Dawuro zone with the specific objectives of mapping highland bamboo culm marketing channels of the study districts and analyzing determinants of highland bamboo culms supply. Data were generated by individual interview and group discussions by using questionnaires and checklists. This was supplemented by secondary data collected from different published and unpublished sources. Multistage sampling technique was applied. Sample of 109 bamboo producers and 34 traders and 2 small and medium bamboo culm processors were main sources of primary data. Descriptive statistics and econometric analysis were employed. Producers, traders (collectors and wholesalers) and bamboo handicraftsmen are chain actors in study areas. Bamboo producers supplied (348,940 culms) to different buyers in 2015 production year. Since there is heteroscedasticity problem in the data set, robust OLS regression econometric model was used to analyze determinants of highland bamboo culms supply to market in study districts. Bamboo culms supply determinants such as quantity of Yushania alpina produced, distance to nearest all weather road, silvicultural management of bamboo stands, access to market information, land allocated for bamboo plantation, and Yushania alpina farming experience were found to significantly affect the household market supply of bamboo culms. Of these explanatory variables, quantity of Yushania alpina produced, distance to all nearest weather road, silvicultural management of bamboo stands were the strongest factors that determine bamboo culms supply to market (p<0.001). To improve output of bamboo culms and increase their own incomes; farmers should apply intensive bamboo silvicultural management. But bringing about a meaningful change in the production and utilization of bamboo resources in the study areas requires a combined effort of all relevant stakeholders. Keywords: Culms supply, Dawuro, highland bamboo (Yushania alpina) value chain, multiple linear regression mode

Farmers Choices of Precursor Crop for Wheat Production in Arsi Zone of Ethiopia

Adoption of crop rotation is seen as best agronomic practice for increasing wheat yield in Ethiopia. Most farmers lack improved farming experiences and skills. They focus on production of food crops (mainly cereals) year after year for family needs. Hence practice of crop rotation is one of the options for improving wheat yield. However, there is lack of empirical study on the factors influencing farmers’ choices of precursor crop for rotation for wheat cultivation. To fill this gap, this study identified factors influencing farmers’ choices of precursor crop to wheat planting. Cross-sectional survey data collected from randomly selected 381 farm households and multinomial logit model were used to achieve the objective. The study identified that farming experience and skill of household head, livestock holding sizes, and access to pesticides had positive and significant effects on farmers’ choices of pulse and vegetable crops being precursors to wheat planting. The study also obtained that the mean predicted probabilities were 0.58 and 0.34 for the choices being cereal and pulse crops as precursor crops to wheat planting, respectively. It is suggested that agricultural extension personnel need to focus on the factors that influenced farmers’ choices of precursor crops to break cereal monoculture system and improve wheat yield. Keywords: Wheat in Ethiopia, Precursor crop, Crop rotation, Multinomial logit mode

Determinants of Rural Household Savings in Ethiopia: The Case of East Hararghe Zone, Oromia Regional State

Saving is undeniably considered as a strategic variable in the theory of economic growth determining both individual and national wellbeing. However, saving level in Ethiopia particularly in rural areas is very low and little is known empirically about its patterns and determinants.  Therefore, this study tries to assess the saving behaviors among rural household in East Hararghe Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia using survey data generated from 700 sample households. The results of this study show that 79.2% of the entire sample households had savings during the survey time. From  the tobit model used for analysis,  nine variables, namely household head education level, livestock holdings, access to credit service, income, investment, training participation, contact with extension contacts, forms of savings and saving motives were found to have significant influence on the amount of households savings. The results of the study shows that rural households do save irrespective of their low income mainly in informal saving institutions showing high request for accessibility potential for formal saving institutions. Key words: Rural household savings, Patterns of savings, Oromia, East Hararghe Zon

Smallholder Wheat Production Efficiency in Selected Agro-ecological Zones of Ethiopia: A Parametric Approach

Wheat productivity is very low in Ethiopia. Improving production efficiency is one of the options for enhancing wheat productivity. To identify the level of production efficiency and sources of inefficiencies, this study was carried out in three major wheat producing agro-ecologies. It used cross-sectional data collected from randomly selected 381 farm households for 2012/13 cropping season. A Cobb-Douglas Production Function and Stochastic Frontier Analysis were employed to achieve the objectives. The study found considerable variation in production efficiency among agro-ecologies and within agro-ecology. The mean technical efficiency estimates for lowland, midland and highland agro-ecologies were 57 percent, 82 percent and 78 percent, respectively. The technical efficiency ranges from 24.4 to 88.6 percents in the lowland, 51.6 to 94.4 percents in the midland, and 34.5 to 94.3 percents in the highland agro-ecologies. There is more capacity to increase wheat yield given the current state of technology and input levels. Wheat output elasticities associated with land, labor, chemical fertilizers and other inputs (seed and pesticides) were positive and significant in the lowland whereas in mid and highland agro-ecologies, output elasticities of land and chemical fertilizers were significant. Age of household head, livestock holding size, practice of crop rotation, access to credit and improved seed, and family size were significant factors that affect wheat production efficiency. To enhance wheat production and productivity, agricultural extension activities need to target agro-ecological orientation, the identified efficiency determining socioeconomic characteristics, and farm inputs utilization of households. Keywords: Wheat in Ethiopia, Efficiency, Cobb-Douglas, Stochastic Frontier Analysi

A TIME SERIES ANALYSIS OF CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND ITS IMPACTS ON FOOD PRODUCTION IN NORTH SHEWA ZONE IN ETHIOPIA

North Shewa is among the areas in Ethiopia hardest hit by climate change (CC), mainly through frequent occurrence of CC induced hazards like flooding, insect outbreaks, hailstorm, alien weeds, disease and pests, droughts and all others which are a result of CC. Time series data collected from the Central Statistical Authority of Ethiopia and the National Meteorological Agency of Ethiopia were employed to examine the variability in the trends of precipitation and temperature over the period of three decades. An attempt was made to measure the number of people and area of land vulnerable to CC induced shocks over a time scale. Also, estimation of the impacts of CC on food production was done using an econometric model; where climate variables together with other factors were set to be determinant of food production over time. The co-integrated Vector Auto Regressive and Error Correction Models were employed to empirically analyse the impact of CC factors on food production. The estimated results show that food production was significantly affected by improved technology, area under irrigation, manure usage, Meher rain and temperature, while fertiliser application and Belg rain were found to be less significant in the model. The Johannes\u2019 approach revealed that 9O% of the variation in productivity was explained by area under irrigation, area covered by manure per hectare, the change in usage of improved variety, and the three climate parameters (Meher Rain, Belg rain and Average temperature).Le Nord du Shewa en Ethiopie est parmi les r\ue9gions les plus affect\ue9es par les effets du changement climatique (CC), comme les inondations, principalement par des catastrophes fr\ue9quents li\ue9s au CC comme les inondations, les infestations d\u2019insectes, la gr\ueale, les herbes envahissantes, les maladies, pestes, la s\ue9cheresse et autres cons\ue9quences d\ue9rivant du CC. Une s\ue9rie des donn\ue9es chronologiques collect\ue9es dans l\u2019Office central de la statistique et l\u2019agence \ue9thiopienne de la m\ue9t\ue9orologie \ue9tait utilis\ue9e pour examiner la variabilit\ue9s dans les tendances de la pr\ue9cipitation et la temp\ue9rature au cours d\u2019une p\ue9riode de trois d\ue9cennies. Un effort a \ue9t\ue9 fait pour d\ue9terminer le nombre de personnes et les entendues de terre affect\ue9es par les effets du CC au cours du temps. Aussi, l\u2019impact du CC sur la production vivri\ue8re \ue9tait estim\ue9 sur base d\u2019un mod\ue8le \ue9conom\ue9trique o\uf9 les variables-climat \ue9taient int\ue9gr\ue9es comme d\ue9terminants de la production vivriere au cours du temps. Le Vecteur co-int\ue9gr\ue9 Auto R\ue9gressif et les mod\ue8les dit de la Correction d\u2019erreurs \ue9taient employ\ue9s pour l\u2019analyse empirique de l\u2019impact des facteurs du CC sur la production vivriere. Les r\ue9sultats pr\ue9dits montrent que la production vivri\ue8re est significativement affect\ue9e par la technologie am\ue9lior\ue9e, l\u2019espace sous irrigation, l\u2019utilisation du fumier, la pluie de Meher et la temp\ue9rature alors que l\u2019application d\u2019engrais et la pluie de Belg sont moins signifiants dans le mod\ue8le. L\u2019approche de Johannes a r\ue9v\ue9l\ue9 que 9O % de la variation dans la productivit\ue9 est expliqu\ue9e par la superficie irrigu\ue9e, la superficie couverte par le fumier par hectare, le changement dans l\u2019utilisation des vari\ue9t\ue9s de semences am\ue9lior\ue9es, et les trois param\ue8tres climatiques (Pluies de Meher, pluie de Belg et la temp\ue9rature moyenne). Les r\ue9sultats pr\ue9dits montrent que, alors que la production alimentaire est significativement affect\ue9e par l\u2019am\ue9lioration de la technologie, sous irrigation, l\u2019utilisation du fumier, la pluie de Meher et la temp\ue9rature, l\u2019application d\u2019engrais et la pluie de Belg sont moins significatives dans le mod\ue8le. L\u2019approche de Johannes a r\ue9v\ue9l\ue9 que 9O % de la variation de la productivit\ue9 est expliqu\ue9e par la superficie sous irrigation, la r\ue9gion couverte par le fumier par hectare, le changement dans l\u2019utilisation de la vari\ue9t\ue9 am\ue9lior\ue9e et les trois param\ue8tres climatiques (pluie de Meher , pluie de Belg et temp\ue9rature moyenne)

Improvement strategies for farming systems in the Eastern Highlands of Ethiopia

Eleven distinct farming systems were distinguished, based on selected indicators and locations. The indicators involve the resource basis, cropping pattern and intensity, and the major activities including off-farm work. Statistical tests were used to verify the differences. Accounting for the given constraints and for the interdependencies of the system's com·ponents, strategies are developed to improve their poor economic performance. A linear programming model is used to evaluate the effects on farm performance of (a) reallocating the existing farm resources, and (b) introduction of improved technologies. The type of relationship among the elements of the farming system determines the overall outcome of any improvement effort. Groundnut and livestock production are highly competitive. A package of technological innovations is needed to achieve a major improvement on the smallest farms

Child poverty and its determinants; the case of Negele Arsi Woreda, Oromia regional state, Ethiopia

AbstractChild poverty is widespread and anticipated to endure in the future, particularly in developing countries. By 2030, it is predicted that a considerable number of children would be living in poverty. As a result, addressing child poverty is a top priority for researchers and politicians today. The objective of this study is to examine and measure the factors that contribute to child poverty in the Negele Arsi woreda, West Arsi Zone, Oromia Regional State. Based on probability proportionate to size, multistage sampling procedures were employed to pick 401 respondents from four kebeles. The data for this study was gathered using enumerator-administered interview schedules. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics techniques, and the causes of child poverty were analyzed using a probit regression model. The multidimensional poverty assessment method was utilized to assess child poverty based on several indicators. As a result, the total multidimensional child poverty analysis found that around 80 percent of children in the study area were multidimensionally poor. Multidimensional poverty was found to be highly affected by factors such as household socioeconomic status, the age of the household head, and household wealth status. Similarly, nutrition, education, information, shelter, income, and fuel are all intimately tied to children’s requirements

Influence of microfinance services On farm households income: the case Of oromia credit and saving share Company kuyu Branch Ethiopia

The paper analyzes the influence of micro finance services in improving economic performance of farm households using data collected from 100 randomly selected households. Descriptive analysis of the changes in income level between the baseline and survey year was made whereas binary logit model was used to analyze the determinant of incremental income. The results revealed the existence of improvement in the household income of the clientèles. Micro finance service related variables such as proper utilization of the disbursed loan, average loan size, appropriateness of loan disbursement schedule, and access to required amount of loan were found to be significant factors influencing the incremental income of the clientèle. Other determining factors include land holding, shortage of drought animals, and distance to market. The policy implications of the results tend to emphasize on the importance of supervision of loan service, improved loan schedules, proper identification of feasible business plan, income diversification of the clientèle, and strengthening market acces