Analysis of Rural Poverty and Exit time: The case of Gozamn District of East Gojjam Zone, Ethiopia

This study was conducted in Gozamn district with specific objectives of measuring rural poverty, estimating the average time needed to exit poverty and identifying the determinants of rural household poverty. The study made use of primary data collected from 120 selected sample households by conducting structured interview employing multi-stage sampling technique. To this end, the CBN approach of setting absolute poverty line was used and the estimated poverty line was found to be ETB 3650.75 per adult equivalent per year. Results of the FGT poverty index revealed that about 49 % of the sample rural households live below poverty line with 9.5% and 3.1% poverty gap and poverty severity, respectively. The average time that the poor rural household might need to exit poverty was estimated to be 4.4 years provided that the 6.4% GDP per capita growth rate per year continues. Econometric results of the binary logit regression model revealed that education, livestock ownership, cultivated land holding, oxen holding, off-farm/non-farm income, credit utilization and frequency of extension contact were found to be as theoretically expected, statistically significant and have a strong negative association with the poverty status of rural households whereas family size alone was found to have a positive association with poverty status of rural households. Hence, promoting equitable economic growth, adult education, family planning, expanded diversification, fostering rural-urban linkages, increasing land productivity, irrigation technologies and promoting research-extension-farmer linkage are indispensible policy interventions to better target rural poverty. Keywords: Rural poverty, average exit time, binary logit, Gozam

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

The Impact of Micro-Credit Intervention on Female Labor Force Participation in Income-Generating Activities in Rural Households of North Wollo, Ethiopia

We examined the impact of micro-credit on female labor participation in income-generating activities in rural households of North Wollo, Ethiopia. The study employed selection and average treatment effect models to determine the effect and impact of credit intervention on the decision of women to participate in income-generating activities and their level of engagement. A total of 460 households, participants and nonparticipants of the credit scheme, from three woredas of North Wollo Administrative zone was selected using systematic random sampling. Using the primary data, the study found that micro-credit has positive and significant effect both on women’s decisions to participate in income-generating activities, and the magnitude of time spent on such activities. In particular, the study showed that, on average, women who had access to credit facilities spent 4.45 more hours of time on income-generating activities than the control group. The average time spent by women in the control group in income-generating activities was 1.39 hours. The average treatment effect (ATE) was found to be considerably greater than the average treatment effect among the treated (ATET) implying that poor women with less entrepreneurial capabilities had been targeted for credit participation. Future policies in micro-credit should consider targeting women with better potential for succeeding in business despite their initial income status. The majority of credit participant women were found to be engaged in better and newly developed income-generating activities such as animal fattening and rearing, poultry, bee-keeping, vegetable cultivation and business-related activities. However, a considerable number of women were also engaged in traditional activities such as fire-wood collection and weeding to generate income. Such activities are borderline cases to influence the status of women in intra-household resource allocation: the study noted that where women engage the choice of economic activities needs consideration

Farmers’ Perception of the Impact of Land Degradation and Soil and Water Conservation Measures in West Harerghe Zone of Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia.

This study was conducted to assess the farmers’ perception of the impact of land degradation and its’ conservation measures on crop productivity and income in West Harerghe Zone of Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia. The study was based on the data obtained from 398 sample households using pre-tested structured interview schedule. The data were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics with the appropriate statistical tests. The result of the analysis revealed that out of the total sampled households, 82.7 percent were perceptive about the problem of soil erosion and majority of these households (54.5 percent) perceived erosion on their land as severe. The perceived fertility decline on their farm was, 28.1 percent less severe, 57.9 percent sever and 13.9 percent very severe. More than 55 percent of sampled respondents also believe that the impact of land degradation on yield/productivity decline of their lands was severe. Likewise, majority (98.9 percent) of the total households were perceptive about the impact of soil and water conservation in improving soil fertility and yield/production. However, significant proportion farmers who perceived the impact of land degradation and the conservation measures on crop productivity and income were using traditional measures. Therefore, to encourage adoption of improved conservation measures extension, institutional support programs and projects which promote soil and water conservation technologies should have strategies which focus on enhancing the willingness of farm households. Keywords: Land degradation, soil and water conservation, perception, Ethiopia

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

CROP ATTRIBUTES, FARM DECISIONS CROP SPECIFIC POLICIES IN THE CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABILITY OF PRODUCTION IN ETHIOPIA

Ethiopia’s government has created a number of policies and programs to address the urgent issue of rising food prices. Extension and regulation initiatives aiming at influencing the production and marketing are frequently used in conjunction with them. However, lack of indices on relative importance of individual crops results poor policy outcomes. Analyzing household decision dynamics and how household decisions respond to policies is crucial to reduce persistent complaints from recipients and avoid negative policy outcomes. For this study, data from 392 randomly chosen households of Kewot woreda was used. Sorghum found with higher calorie index per profit while mung bean was found higher profit index. Crop diversification found inefficient that arise from profitability differences and return to scale. Additionally multiple objectives could be met using tradeoffs among different crop benefits. This study also summarizes major findings from previous crop-related policies and linked them to specific crop characteristics. It is advised that policies be adjusted to reflect the value, character, and utility of crops

Empowerment and Tech Adoption: Introducing the Treadle Pump Triggers Farmers’ Innovation in Eastern Ethiopia

In 2013, thirty-eight treadle pumps (TPs) were installed as low-cost technology introduction for small-scale irrigation in eastern Ethiopia. This pilot project also trained six farmers on tube well excavation, as well as the installation and maintenance of pumps. In June 2015, researchers visited nine of the thirty-eight TP villages and found only two TPs functioning as originally installed. The rest were replaced with a new technology developed by the trained farmers. Farmers, empowered by training, gained more control in developing technology options tailored to local needs and conditions of their communities. Adopters of the new technology stated that the limited water output and high labor demand of the conventional TP did not optimally fulfil their irrigation water requirements. The new technology had spread quickly to more than one hundred households due to three key factors. First, farmers’ innovative modifications of the initial excavation technique addressed the discharge limitations of the conventional TP by excavating boreholes with wider diameter. Second, local ownership of the new technology, including skills used in well drilling and manufacturing excavation implements, made the modified irrigation technology affordable and accessible to the majority of households. Third, this innovation spread organically without any external support, confirming its sustainability

SMALLHOLDER FARMERS’ CROP COMMERCILIZATION IN THE HIGHLANDS OF EASTERN ETHIOPIA

This paper sorts out the most important factors influencing crop market participation of smallholder farmers in the highlands of Eastern Ethiopia. The study used primary data collected from 385 smallholder farmers during the year 2015. Heckman two-stage and Tobit models were employed for the analyses. Heckman model of first-stage results indicated that households’ decision to participate in crop output markets were influenced by factors such as sex of household head, farming experience, livestock holding, cultivated land size, off/non-farm income, fertilizer used, on-farm income, market distance, and crop diversification. Moreover, the second-stage results revealed that farm households’ intensity of crop output market participation was influenced by different factors such as dependency ratio, cultivated land size, education status, chemical fertilizer, and distance to market. The Tobit model result also indicated that the extent of farm household’s participation in annual crop fertilizer market as buyer is influenced by the amount of cultivated land, land allocated to khat crop, off/ non-farm income (log), amount of manure used and distance to the main road. From policy perspective, we recommend that strategies aimed at improving commercial behaviour of smallholder farmers in the study area should be directed in addressing the determining factors of both crop input and output market participation

Risk management strategies of smallholder farmers in the eastern highlands of Ethiopia

Many risks with severe consequences affect the rural society in Ethiopia. Hence, risk reduction and mitigation would be of paramount importance to the rural households whose livelihoods are threatened. This thesis investigates the relationship between various types of agricultural risks and socio-economic-cultural characteristics of households, opportunity variables and other pertinent factors. For a fuller understanding of the contextual risks, the study utilises both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis. The qualitative methods are envisaged to grasp the varying insights, perspectives and complexities of rural livelihoods. The quantitative analyses are used to enrich and contextualize the qualitative information. The results reveal that households in the Eastern Highlands of Ethiopia are vulnerable to a wide variety of risks that can materially disrupt different aspects of their livelihoods. In the first article, it is shown that the major risks are production risk, financial risk, health risk, institutional and political risk. These are both covariate risks that may take the form of widespread shocks such as drought, or idiosyncratic risks such as localised shocks or health problems. It emerges that risks are perceived by different local actors in varying ways depending on differences in asset endowments, locational settings and different dimensions of livelihood diversification strategies pursued by the farmers. Article II focuses on estimation and characterisation of perceived risks, mainly on income, price and yield variability. The analysis shows that drought, pests & diseases, higher prices of cereals at purchase, and drought coupled with pests & diseases are very frequent and distributionally neutral. Proximity to the market and the number of cattle owned by the households are found to be the strong determinants of household income during both 'good' and 'bad' years. Article III analyses what determines access to risk information and learning that is vital in the risk reduction and mitigation process. The main messages are that distances from markets and number of plots owned by the farmers have significant associations with access to information. Self-evaluation of knowledge, a proxy for learning, is found to be significantly associated with differences in gender, marital statuses and educational level of household head as well as number of cattle owned and farm size. Some important messages emerge from the fourth article. Firstly, farmers perceived that financial response; diversification and marketing responses are important management tools in risk mitigation and sustenance of their livelihoods. Secondly, responses to risks are differentiated across opportunity variables, wealth status, diversification and human capital- related variables. This dissertation argues that the trend of increased reliance on ex post responses to risks needs to be reversed as farmers would benefit more from invigorating ex ante, preventive, risk management instruments. The impetus of this study is that understanding varying perceptions of risks, risk information, learning and risk responses of farmers could serve as a solid basis in the efforts of articulating sensible grass-root level risk reduction strategies with the view of reducing various dimensions of poverty in the Eastern Highlands of Ethiopia