Structure and functioning of chickpea markets in Ethiopia: evidence based on analyses of value chains linking smallholders and markets

This paper looks into one of the key policy questions - understanding of how rural grain markets function in the context of market liberalization and how the emerging architecture of marketing channels determines the distribution of costs, margins and prices for different participants in the marketing chains. We explore these issues using the case of chickpeas, one of the newly emerging export commodities being promoted for expansion in Ethiopia. Despite its important role and good potentials, the chickpea production system is not adequately market-oriented and competitiveness of smallholders is limited by low productivity and poor quality of traditional varieties (Shiferaw et al. 2007). Despite the policy interest to expand chickpea production for exports, there is lack of empirical evidence on the structure, conduct and performance of the chickpea marketing systems in the country. This study attempts to narrow this gap by examining the chickpea marketing system in one of the major growing areas and provides new insights on how the performance of the marketing system may be enhanced to improve competitiveness. Using primary data collected from a survey of marketing channels in one of the major chickpea growing areas in the country (Ada';a-Liben), we map the marketing channels and value chains for chickpeas and estimate the distribution of costs, margins and prices for the different participants in the identified value chains. The first section presents the conceptual issues in the analyses of marketing channels, value chains and measurement of marketing costs. This is followed by description of the study area, the survey data and the empirical approach and methods used in the analysis. The next section presents the main result with emphasis on identification and mapping of chickpea marketing channels and the distribution of costs, margins and prices across different market participants. The last section presents a summary of the key findings and conclusions, highlighting implications for policy

Work-related operating theatre accidents among surgical residents in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Background: With the Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic and infections with hepatitis B, C and D, occupational exposures to these infections is a cause of concern to all health care workers, especially those working in the operating theatre in low income countries.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the prevalence and context of all work-related accidents that occurred as a result of contamination with blood and blood products, among surgical residents at the Black lion teaching specialized referral hospital, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Data was collected from all 36 surgical residents who were at different stages of their specialty training in 2006/07.Results: Thirty two (88.9%) of the residents were males; 17 (47.2%) in their 3rd and 4th year, and the rest 19 (52.8%) were in their first and second year of training. Of the 36 respondents, 28(77.8%) had sustained a needle-stick injury inside the operating theatre at least twice during their residency (Range=2-10 times). For 13(36.1%), the accidents involved a high risk patient at least once. Cut with a sharp object, contact of blood to an unprotected skin and splash of blood to the eyes and face were reported by 11(30.6%), 27(75%) and 27(75%) of the respondents respectively. Information concerning the most recent occupational injury inside the operating theatre revealed that 31(86.1%) of the residents sustained work-related accident in the 6 months preceding the survey, 8(25.8%) of which involved a high risk patient. All of the 8 (100%) of the recent high risk injuries and 22(95.6%) of the non-high risk injuries were not reported to the hospital’s employee health service. The most frequently cited reasons for not reporting include; “The occupational health service doesn’t exist or I don’t know if it exists in the hospital” for 15 (50%), among others.Conclusions and Recommendations: Overall, the present study revealed that work-related accidents among surgical trainees constitute a substantial risk of acquiring and transmitting blood-borne infections which calls for well targeted educational and other preventive measures in the teaching hospital

Poverty and natural resource management in the semi-arid tropics: revisiting challenges and conceptual issues. Working Paper Series no. 14

As many of the poor in developing countries depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, agricultural development is widely regarded as a viable strategy for reducing poverty and conservation of the natural resources base. This recognition has necessitated a wide range of interventions to increase the productivity of agriculture and enhance food security in poor areas. Despite such efforts and the increased momentum towards globalization, along with increasing scarcity of land and water resources, poverty and resource degradation have increased in some marginalized areas, especially in sub-saharan Africa. A number of studies in recent times have postulated a self-reinforcing downward spiral between poverty, population pressure, and natural resource degradation. These interlinkages seem to be valid for certain arid and semi-arid areas with fragile and marginal environments where biophysical and socioeconomic constraints limit investment opportunities. With emphasis in semi-arid rainfed areas, this study examines the livelihood-environmental linkages in light of the existing theories and empirical evidence; synthesizes major lessons; suggests research and policy implications; and advances a more holistic and interdisciplinary analytical framework for understanding the most limiting structural constraints, farmer decision behavior, and investment strategies

The Gap between Surgical Resident and Faculty Surgeons Concerning Operating Theatre Teaching: Report from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Background: In a continent like Africa where the number of surgeons is alarmingly few, training of a large number of residents is the way forward. However, sudden expansion in the number of trainees in an existing teaching environment may bring the quality of the most fundamentaleducation i.e. operation room teaching into question.Method: We wanted to investigate the different perceptions of our surgeons-under-training and faculty concerning preoperative preparation, intra operative teaching and postoperative feedback. A validated questionnaire was administered to our surgical residents and faculty at the Addis Ababa University, School of Medicine, Department of Surgery. Results were analyzed with 2-sample t tests, comparing Likert scores. Findings were significant if the p value was < 0.05.Results: Forty residents (15 second year, 15 third years and 10 final years) and 30 faculty members completed the survey. With respect to preoperative preparation, faculty were significantly more likely to claim that residents’ preparation in terms of reading is low (3.77 vs 2.45; p=0.001) and anatomy review (3.73 vs 2.34; p=0.001) before the procedure. There was a very significant difference with regards to intra-operative teaching activities, i.e teaching of the operative steps (2.60 vs 3.79; p=0.048), instrument handling (2.30 vs 3.72; p=0.002), and surgical technique (2.23vs 3.83; p= 0.001). Residents’ perception of the effort of the faculty to act as a teacher in the operating room was significantly lower compared to the faculty (2.13 vs 3.94; p=0.002). Postoperatively, significant differences were found in perceptions of positive feedback (2.48 vs 3.86; p=0.01) and feedback on areas to improve (1.85 vs 3.34; p=0.001).Conclusion: There is a universal agreement on the need to improve the current residency training. However, the difference between resident and faculty in the teaching-learning process is alarmingly significant. As there is no substitute for the intra-operative training of residents, every effort must be made to not to trade off number of graduates with quality and  competence of surgeons-under-training.  Keywords: Resident, Surgeons, Operating, Theatre, Teachin

Analysis of production costs, market opportunities and competitiveness of Desi and Kabuli chickpeas in Ethiopia

This study was conducted to examine the existing conditions of chickpeas in relation to production and marketing and outlines the major technological and institutional constraints for harnessing market opportunities in the chickpea sub-sector. The study determines variety introduction, market conditions and seed delivery systems in Ada'a-Liben woreda. This district is one of the major chickpea growing areas in which new market-preferred and high-value Kabuli types are being tested and promoted. Section two of this paper presents the research process and methods. This is followed by discussion of production trends, available technologies, costs and opportunities for chickpeas. An overview of the structure and organization of the chickpea marketing system is given in section four. Section five presents market conditions with emphasis on opportunities for Kabuli exports, quality requirements, grading systems, competitiveness of smallholder producers, and existing potentials in domestic markets. The final section summarizes the key findings and highlights issues for policy and future research

Stimulating smallholder investment in sustainable land management: Overcoming market, policy and institutional challenges

The degradation of natural resources raises a variety of issues related to rural livelihoods, poverty, distribution of income and inter-generational equity. Land degradation also deprives smallholders and particularly the poor of a key resource and diminishes capacity to undertake critical investments, possibly leading to depletion of buffer stocks and increased vulnerability. These problems are most pronounced in areas with widespread poverty and fragile ecosystems such as arid, semi-arid and highland regions (Pender and Hazell, 2000; Shiferaw and Bantilan, 2004). In such areas sustainable intensification of agriculture through land conservation and management is a critical policy challenge..

Methods for Assessing the Impacts of Natural Resource Management Research A Summary of the Proceedings of the ICRISAT-NCAP/ICAR International Workshop

The perceived risks to sustainability of production systems and livelihood security of the poor in the many developing countries in recent years have prompted increased investment in natural resource management (NRM) research and development efforts. The national and international agencies, and non-governmental organizations making these investments are anxious to assess the effectiveness of these interventions on attaining the stated environmental and livelihood objectives. But measuring changes in natural resource and environmental outcome is notoriously difficult, as is assigning a monetary value to those tangible and nontangible changes. Yet, accountability is impossible without measurement of impacts. These methodological difficulties have hindered impact assessment studies in this area. This publication contains a summary of papers and discussions from the international workshop 'Methods for Assessing the Impacts of Natural Resource Management Research' held at ICRISAT-Patancheru, 6-7 December 2002. The workshop aimed to review recent advances in methods for assessing the economic and environmental outcomes of NRM practices in agriculture. It was attended by researchers from various national and international agencies, with specific expertise in applied methods for assessing the impacts of integrated NRM innovations. The presentations and discussions highlighted the special features and challenges of NRM impact assessment; indicators for monitoring biophysical and environmental impacts; methods for valuation of various ecosystem services derived from NRM investments; and economic methodologies and approaches for integrated assessment of economic and environmental impacts of NRM interventions in agriculture. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of ICRISAT. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of ICRISAT concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area, or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Where trade names are used this does not constitute endorsement of or discrimination against any product by ICRISAT

Assessing the economic and environmental impacts of conservation technologies: a farm-level bioeconomic modelling approach

This chapter illustrates how a multiperiod bioeconomic household-level model, in which changes in resource quality have feedback effects on future land productivity, can be used to explore the economic and environmental impacts of natural resource management technologies and policies. This model is used to test the influence of land scarcity and asset poverty on incentives to undertake sustainability investments in Andit Tid, in the central highlands of Ethiopia. The results show how land scarcity could drive conservation investments, while poverty in vital assets such as oxen and labour could deter investments in land and water management. The welfare and environmental impacts are very modest but are highest when the conservation technology does not reduce short-term crop yields. Otherwise, the level of adoption of these technologies and their effects on poverty and soil degradation are significantly reduced even when family labour is not limitin

Adapting the Global Food and Water Models for Analysis of SAT Futures and Development Opportunities

This publication is a product of an ongoing collaborative research project between the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). The project aims to introduce dryland crops into the updated IMPACT model and undertake strategic analysis of future opportunities and challenges for SAT agriculture. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Mark Rosegrant, for providing the necessary background material for the training workshop from which this technical manual has been developed. Special thanks are to Siet Meijer for sharing her experience and offering the training at ICRISAT Patancheru (India), which was very useful in introducing the different variants of the IMPACT model to ICRISAT staff. We also appreciate the coordination and cooperation rendered by our staff to make the training program a success. We thank the Learning System Unit for providing us the necessary logistical support for the training