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Background: Promoting and provision of improved agricultural inputs technology innovations-, is key to increase the productivity through intensification of smallholders farms. However, there are limited rigorous impact evaluations on the contributions of such combinations of improved technologies on household income. This paper investigates the impact of improved agricultural technology use on farm household income in East Shewa Ethiopia. Methods: The study uses a multi stage sampling procedure to select 400 sample households. Data were collected using a household survey, a focus group discussant (FGD) and key informant interviews. Binary logistic regression model and propensity score matching (PSM) were used to analyse the data collected. Results: Results of the propensity score matching analysis showed that households using improved agricultural technologies had on average the annual income higher than the adopters by Ethiopia Birr 14,407.96. We found the importance of promoting complementary agricultural technologies among rural smallholders. Conclusions: The farmers are using improved agricultural inputs widely and their status may be vary from farmer to farmer based on availability, accessibility and lack of awareness of the issues involved. The adoption of multiple combinations of improved technologies has substantial effects that improve the agricultural productivity status of smallholders in the study areas. We suggest that rural technology generation, promotion, dissemination and adoption interventions be strengthened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adoption of improved forage technologies remains to be one of a promising strategy to boost dairy productivity and enhance household income in many developing countries. However, there are limited rigorous impact evaluation studies on the contributions of such technologies on smallholder dairy productivity and household welfare. This paper examined the impact of improved forage technologies use on smallholder dairy productivity and farm household income in Northern Ethiopia. In this study, a cross-sectional survey design and a multistage stratified sampling procedure were employed. Primary data for the study were obtained from a random sample of 319 rural households, 128 of which are improved forage technology users and the rest are nonusers. The research employed the propensity score matching (PSM) procedure to determine the causal relationship between adoption of improved forage technologies and changes in milk yield and farm household income. Results from PSM revealed that households using improved forage technologies have increased the household milk yield (productivity) by 29.32% and farm income (welfare) by 19.56%. Higher milk yield and annual farm income were compared to those households not using such technologies. Our findings highlight the importance of promoting multiple improved forage technologies among rural smallholder's dairy producers. Considering this potential, it is suggested that improved forage technology generation, dissemination, and adoption interventions be strengthened for optimum milk production and to attain optimum income under the smallholder farmers' dairy production system. Moreover, the linkage among research, extension, universities, and farmers needs to be enhanced through facilitating a multistakeholder's innovation platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) is Ethiopia's poverty reduction strategy that forms the most important pillar of the country's agricultural transformation into a more productive and competitive sector. However, the extent to which the PSNP is linked to agriculture is unclear. This paper evaluates the impact of the PSNP on a range of agricultural outcomes. We use data from the Living Standard Measurement Study—Integrated Survey on Agriculture and apply the targeted maximum likelihood estimation method. We find no evidence that PSNP participation improved technology adoption, time spent in agriculture, household‐level access to agricultural services, or women's control over agricultural assets. However, PSNP participation increased access to credit, the share of non‐farm income, hours spent on casual work, community access to irrigation water, ownership of agricultural tools, community service in crop and livestock production, natural resource management, and access to credit. We also observe that PSNP households have a lower level of endowments compared to non‐PSNP households. Given the observed lack of impact on household‐level agricultural outcomes, we recommend integrating household‐level interventions, such as increasing the transfer size and provision of productive assets, that could lift household endowments above an asset threshold that would allow the productive use of community assets. This may boost the productive impact of the PSNP at the household level, facilitate agricultural development and economic growth. To generate additional insights, we recommend further research with sufficient data on the causal pathways between safety nets and agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agroforestry represents a potentially multi-beneficial approach to land management as it may enhance a farming household's income and income stability simultaneously with nutrition security and climate change mitigation. However, our comprehension of the specific characteristics within agroforestry systems that bolster economic productivity remains limited, exacerbating the challenges of land management for smallholder livelihoods. This complexity is compounded by the potential influence of carbon revenue, adding an additional layer of intricacy to the equation. This paper aimed to identify the key economic determinants of multistrata agroforestry in sub-Saharan Africa with and without potential carbon revenue. A quantitative survey of 135 farmers was performed regarding their multistrata agroforestry systems with contrasting histories in three regions of Ethiopia. The carbon sequestration rate and carbon stocks in agroforestry were assessed on one-fifth (27) of the farms. The relative importance of hypothetical determinants of agroforestry systems' economic performance was modeled using descriptive statistics and generalized linear models. Farm size and fertilizer usage were the primary drivers of the farm economy, but farm net income was also highly influenced by the richness and diversity of the income sources. In addition, tree diversity had a positive impact on the net income, whereas the proportion of legume trees and trees with a large diameter correlated negatively with the income. Potential carbon revenue at prices of US$40 tCO 2 −1 and US$100 tCO 2 −1 increased income for multistrata agroforestry farms without significantly changing the magnitude of the identified key determinants. This suggests that the most economically viable agroforestry systems inherently possess a strong capacity for carbon sequestration, effectively serving as carbon sinks. Consequently, carbon revenue serves as a compelling financial incentive for the adoption of these agroforestry systems. Ultimately, this research underscores the pivotal role of biological and product diversity in shaping economic productivity within multistrata agroforestry systems. Moreover, it highlights the accessibility of diversity management for smallholder farmers, even under conditions of resource constraints. [Display omitted] • The economic determinants of agroforestry systems remain not well understood. • The determinants with and without potential access to carbon market were identified. • The farm income was mainly affected by farm size and fertilizer use. • Diversity of the income sources was key determinant regardless of carbon revenue. • Diversity is manageable for all smallholder farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change threatens African countries' economic development and affects agriculture and food security. Ethiopia is especially vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change because its economy is dependent on climate-sensitive livelihoods that have limited potential for adaptation. Emerging evidence indicates that climate-smart agriculture (CSA) can help smallholder farmers adapt to climate change and increase agricultural productivity, thereby enhancing household income and food security. In the study area, different CSA practices have been adopted to mitigate the negative effects of climate change and improve agricultural productivity, income, and food security. Therefore, this study examines the impact of CSA practices on household income and food security in southern Ethiopia. A total of 385 households were selected using multistage sampling. Primary and secondary data were used, and propensity score matching with different types of matching algorithms, such as nearest neighbor, kernel, and radius matching, was employed to quantify the conditional impacts of CSA intervention on farm income and food security. In comparison with non adopters farmers that have adopted CSA practices had a higher food consumption score between 6.27 and 8.15, which was statistically significant at the 1% level. Overall, 34.55% of interviewed households had acceptable food consumption scores, 44.68% had borderline, and 20.77% had poor food consumption scores. Furthermore, households that adopted CSA practices had a 20.30% higher average annual farm income per hectare than non-adopters. The study suggests that effective extension services, accurate climate information, and sound policy support are required to promote and scale up CSA measures in the study area to improve farmers' adaptive capacity, farm income, and food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Livestock provides an important source of income and nourishment for around one billion rural households worldwide. Demand for livestock food products is increasing, especially in developing countries, and there are opportunities to increase production to meet local demand and increase farm incomes. Estimating the scale of livestock yield gaps and better understanding factors limiting current production will help to define the technological and investment needs in each livestock sector. The aim of this paper is to quantify livestock yield gaps and evaluate opportunities to increase dairy production in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, using case studies from Ethiopia and India. We combined three different methods in our approach. Benchmarking and a frontier analysis were used to estimate attainable milk yields based on survey data. Household modelling was then used to simulate the effects of various interventions on dairy production and income. We tested interventions based on improved livestock nutrition and genetics in the extensive lowland grazing zone and highland mixed crop-livestock zones of Ethiopia, and the intensive irrigated and rainfed zones of India. Our analyses indicate that there are considerable yield gaps for dairy production in both countries, and opportunities to increase production using the interventions tested. In some cases, combined interventions could increase production past currently attainable livestock yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rate of urbanization in the Amhara region has apparently increased over the past three decades and is now higher than that of any other region in Ethiopia. As cities expand, peri-urban farmers in the region are being compelled to abandon their landholdings, which is their life-long asset. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the impact of urban expansion on the income of evicted peri-urban farmers in Injibara, Burie and Gish Abay cities of the Amhara regional state, Ethiopia. Using stratified sampling technique, primary data was collected from 393 households (197 evicted and 196 non-evicted). The endogenous switching regression model was employed to examine the impact of urbanization on the income of evicted farmers. The model's output of ATT revealed that evicted farmers had a substantial reduction in yearly income of 9202.36 Ethiopian Birr as compared to their counterfactuals. In other words, eviction diminishes the annual income of evicted farmers by 26.73%. Furthermore, ATU results also confirmed that non-evicted farmers' income would have decreased by 4666.78 Birr if they had chosen to be evicted, proving that eviction might have a negative impact on farmers' income at any circumstance. Therefore, this study suggests that the government conduct a comprehensive socioeconomic and demographic evaluation before evicting indigenous farmers and that an alternative strategy be developed to mitigate the negative effects of eviction on peri-urban farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of improved crop varieties can increase agricultural productivity and enhance the welfare of farmers. This study examined whether the adoption of improved maize varieties (IMV) is associated with the increased welfare of farmers in rural Ethiopia. A panel data set with 1886 observations collected in three waves from 2009/10 to 2014/15 were used for the analysis. The adoption decision was modelled using a double‐hurdle model, and the welfare effect of IMV adoption was estimated using a fixed‐effects instrumental variable approach. Our findings reveal that IMV affects the welfare of farmers. Specifically, we found that IMV adoption increases households' income, asset ownership and maize consumption while also reducing income poverty. The poverty estimates indicate that a 10% increase in the area allocated to IMV was associated with a 4.79% reduction in the probability of being below the $1.90 poverty line. However, the poverty‐reducing effect of IMV adoption was heterogeneous across households, with the most pronounced effect experienced by households with extensive landholdings. Our findings suggest that facilitating access to IMV and land under cultivation can effectively improve farmers' welfare and reduce poverty in rural Ethiopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the agricultural activities of rural farmers is dairy farming. Furthermore, by providing income, it has the potential to make farm households rich. The objective of this study was to analyze the general factors that influence adoption decisions, as well as the status of adoption of dairy technology in the Offa district, Wolaita zone, southern Ethiopia. The study area has fundamental factors influencing the adoption of dairy technologies which were unknown. This research was started to fill a knowledge gap for responsible bodies. Four kebeles were selected randomly for the study. 150 sample households (63 adopters and 87 nonadopters) were chosen using the SRS (systematic random sampling) method. The interview schedule was used to collect primary data from these households. Secondary data were gathered from a variety of sources, including reports, research findings, documents, and publications. Both quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed by using descriptive and econometric analyzes by SPSS version 21. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were also used to collect qualitative data. A binary logistic regression model was used to examine the factors that influence the adoption of dairy technologies. The results of the binary logistic regression model revealed that both dairy technology participants and nonparticipant households experienced a combination of personal, demographic, economic, and institutional factors that hindered adoption. Respondent age, access to credit services, size of household landholding, frequency of the extension contact, involvement of outside income, livestock ownership, and distance from the nearest market were all significant negative contributing factors. On the other hand, farm income and dairy farming experience were positively significant variables in the model. Technical assistance to improve farm productivity and income, experience sharing and field visit programs to the fields of early experienced dairy farmers, improvement of farmland usage, improvement of road infrastructure in the study area, provision of appropriate and modernized training and extension services, and so on are among the recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smallholder farmers in Ethiopia largely depend on rainfed agriculture and they are highly vulnerable to climate change with few options to offset them. Adaptation to climate change requires innovative measures to be shared and adopted. This paper analyses willingness to pay (WTP) for rainfall-based index insurance by farmers in Ethiopia to shield against the adverse consequences of climate change. Rainfall data for the study area were used to compute Standardized Precipitation Indices to serve as drought monitoring tool and trigger response actions. A bivariate probit model was estimated to scrutinize factors associated with WTP. The results indicate that smallholder farmers associate positive value to indexed insurance. Those farmers in agro-ecology with moisture stress, who are better educated, worried about risk associated with weather and those who have better access to credit are more likely to pay for weather-indexed insurance. However, households that have better non-farm income and remittance are less likely to pay for the indexed insurance. The mean WTP was found to be Birr 119.90 per year for a hectare of maize-cultivated land. However, a number of challenges remain to be addressed for effective index-based insurance, which includes reliable weather data, strong marketing channel and intermediary for the insurance products. Therefore, any intervention which aims at transferring weather-based risks through rainfall index-based insurance need to consider the above features to identify the early adopters of the product. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Highland Ethiopia is one of the most densely populated regions of Africa and has long been associated with both Malthusian disasters and Boserupian agricultural intensification. This paper explores the race between these two countervailing forces, with the goal of inform two important policy questions. First, how do rural Ethiopians adapt to land constraints? And second, do land constraints significantly influence welfare outcomes in rural Ethiopia? To answer these questions we use a recent household survey of high-potential areas. We first show that farm sizes are generally very small in the Ethiopian highlands and declining over time, with young rural households facing particularly severe land constraints. We then ask whether smaller and declining farm sizes are inducing agricultural intensification, and if so, how. We find strong evidence in favor of the Boserupian hypothesis that land-constrained villages typically use significantly more purchased input costs per hectare and more family labor, and achieve higher maize and teff yields and higher gross income per hectare. However, although these higher inputs raise gross revenue, we find no substantial impact of greater land constraints on net farm income per hectare once family labor costs are accounted for. Moreover, farm sizes are strongly positively correlated with net farm income, suggesting that land constraints are an important cause of rural poverty. We conclude with some broad policy implications of our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The transition of farmers from subsistence to market-oriented agriculture is meant to reduce hunger, increase wellbeing and accelerate rural economic progress. While an impressive extant literature has analysed agricultural commercialisation effects on welfare from an income, expenditure and consumption perspective, authors place less attention on the implications on asset holdings, which is a more robust long-term measure of welfare. Using chickpea production in Ethiopia as a case, we assess the effects of chickpea commercialisation on household asset ownership and livestock holdings of smallholder farmers. We employ a household fixed-effects estimator to control for time-invariant unobserved heterogeneity and account for possible endogeneity using an instrumental variable approach. For comparison purposes, we also evaluate the income effects of chickpea and examine impact heterogeneity using quantile regressions. Our results indicate a positive impact of agricultural commercialisation on assets, livestock ownership and income. We found commercialisation to benefit all farmers in terms of impact heterogeneity, though with higher gains for asset-rich households. Despite this rising asset inequality, we conclude that increased agricultural commercialisation can contribute to economic development of households and reduce rural poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization remains a public policy challenge in developing countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where fast growth rates have been observed. This study aims to investigate the effect of urbanization on the income diversification of farm households in the Adama district of the Oromia regional state. We used data collected from two groups of farm households based on their distance from the urban center. Families residing close to urban areas are categorized as treated and controlled for the remaining counterpart. The study employed both descriptive and inferential data analysis. Multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed that farming households in urban areas diversify their income to farm and unskilled non-farm activities more than rural households far away from urban centers. The research shows that increasing urbanization by one unit causes a decrease in farming activities by 32%, and farming and non-farm activities increase by 24%. The result also indicated that households with higher age and their consumption expenditure determinant factors for more likely to diversify their income to unskilled non-farm activities. The result proved that urbanization limits farming households' capacity to generate income from agriculture and pushes them to diversify to non-farming income-generating activities. Governments should therefore design robust strategies and facilitate the provision of agricultural technologies. The regional state and small financial enterprises should also assist displaced households in expanding their income-generating activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving crop productivity and farm income of rural households and ensuring food security through soil and water conservation (SWC) measures are one of the integral parts of sustainable livelihood approaches. The study aims to assess the impact of soil and water conservation measures on improving the rural livelihoods, which is measured in terms of annual crop production and farm income of rural households in the Damota area districts. The data was collected from 378 households (209 adopters and 169 nonadopters of SWC measures) using survey questionnaires, which were randomly chosen by using multistage sampling techniques. Descriptive and inferential statistics with propensity score matching (PSM) method were used to analyze the collected data. The propensity score matching method was used to assess the impacts of soil and water conservation measures by controlling unobserved heterogeneity and were matched with balanced observable characteristics. The result showed that the mean value of wheat production of adopter households was higher (654 kilograms per hectare) than that of nonadopters (496 kilograms per hectare). Similarly, the mean values of farm income of adopter households were higher (17372.67 Ethiopian Birr per year) than those of nonadopter households (13883.22 Ethiopian Birr per year). The result indicated that both crop production and annual farm income were more pronounced when farmers implemented sustainable soil and water conservation measures on their farming lands. This suggests that all rural households need to focus on the large-scale adoption, integration, and maintenances of damaged structures for better agricultural outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inorganic fertilizer is one of the key technologies that could enhance crop productivity. However, farmers are still using lower than the recommended rates and yet there are a lot of farmers who are not using fertilizers at all. In this study, we analyze determinants and profitability of fertilizer use using a survey data collected from 174 randomly selected maize producers in NonoBenja District, Ethiopia. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Heckman's two-stage model, net profit analysis, and Kendall's coefficient of concordance. Results show that the sampled respondents on average applied 142.8 kg/ha inorganic fertilizer (NPS+Urea) which is only 71.5% of the recommended rate. Age of household head, farm income, and use of input credit affected the probability of fertilizer use positively. Education level of household head, livestock holding and frequency of contact with extension agent positively influenced both the probability and intensity of fertilizer use whereas perception on cost of production influenced both the use and intensity of use negatively. Off-farm income positively influenced the intensity of fertilizer use. Farmers applying the recommended and above the recommended rates of inorganic fertilizer in maize production were more profitable than those applying lower than the recommended rates. Results imply that smallholders should be encouraged to use and enhance their use intensity of inorganic fertilizer in maize production for better productivity and profitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to identify determinants of rainwater harvesting adoption, and evaluate its impact on livelihood of smallholder farmers in Kutaber district. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select 196 sample households. Descriptive statistics and econometric models were used to analyze the primary data. Logit model was used to identify determinants of rainwater harvesting adoption while propensity score matching was used to evaluate its impact on livelihood of smallholder farmers. The result of logit model revealed that education level, family size, farming experience, participation in technology demonstration, and membership in farmer cooperative were significantly and positively affected adoption of rainwater harvesting technology, while age of household head negatively affected it. The finding of this study showed that adoption of rainwater harvesting technology have a positive and significant effect on the livelihood of farmers in terms of household annual farm income and food security. The result indicated that rainwater harvesting has significantly increased adopters' annual farm income by 35.13% and daily calorie intake per adult equivalent by 15.56% than non-adopters. Therefore, it is recommended to alter the attitude of technology averse older farmers, enhance farmer training and experience sharing, accessible demonstration sites and farmer cooperative to achieve extensive adoption of the technology thereby improve farmer's livelihood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined factors that influence farmers' participation in malt barley contract farming and West Arsi zones of Oromia region, Ethiopia. Data were collected from 384 (190 contract and 194 non-contract) randomly selected farm households. The probit model showed that age, livestock ownership, credit access, distance to the main market and cooperative membership had positive and significant effects on decision regarding contract farming participation. Propensity score matching technique was used to estimate the impact of participation in contract farming on farm households' income. And it revealed that contract farming resulted in an increased annual gross farm income of Birr 24,302.20 for contract, which is 27.80% higher than the gross annual income of non-contract malt barley farm households. The finding of this study highlights that contract farming is viable to increase farm household's income, which policy makers and other concerned agencies may consider as an alternative rural development approach so long as it is tailored to contexts alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Ethiopia, among other things, lack of finance is one of the fundamental problems hampering production, productivity and income of rural farm households. Since access to institutional finance is very limited, the majority of the coffee farmers are forced to search financial services through informal channels. This study was aimed at analyzing coffee value chain finance in Bodji Dirmeji District, Ethiopia with specific objectives of mapping out the coffee value chain finance and Sources of Credit for Coffee Value Chain in the study area. Two stage sampling method was employed to select 168 coffee farmers. Coffee value chain actors include producers, local collectors/assemblers suppliers, processors, service providers, exporters, wholesalers and retailers. The study reveals that the sources of credit to coffee farmers comprised of both the formal and informal sources. Formal sources included the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) Oromia Credit and Saving Share Company (OCSSCO) and Cooperatives. Informal credit sources on the other hand comprised coffee traders. The output from the study indicates that 64 (38.1%) of the sampled farm households were formal credit users, whereas the remaining 104 (61.9%) of the sampled farm households were having fixed price forward contracting with traders. Therefore, policy aimed to accelerate agricultural development in the area could be successful if these problems are taken into consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developing countries, agricultural advisory services (AASs) are regarded as a key component of economic development strategies in terms of improving productivity and livelihoods. Nevertheless, there is a dearth of empirical evidence on the impact of AASs in general and the Farmers' Training Centres (FTCs) in particular. In this article, we employ the propensity score matching procedure to estimate the impact of an FTC-based training on household farm income in eastern Ethiopia. The result indicates a significant average gain of annual farm income by participants of the training, ranging from Birr 9557 to Birr 10,388 per household. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates how off-farm income affects crop output market participation decisions and marketed surplus of smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. A double-hurdle model is estimated using three waves of panel data from the Ethiopian Rural Household Survey. Unobserved heterogeneity is controlled for using a correlated random effect procedure and potential endogeneity of explanatory variables using a control function approach. The results show that off-farm income has no significant influence on household crop output market participation. However, conditional on market participation, additional off-farm earnings negatively affect the marketed surplus. This indicates that farmers use off-farm earnings for consumption rather than for investment in agricultural production. Policy measures that promote rural investment may help increase returns to labor for land-poor households participating in off-farm work in the process of agricultural commercialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this article is to assess the contributions in sustaining the livelihoods of smallholder farmers of rainfall-deficit-index-based crop insurance pilot project based on haricot beans implemented in Ethiopia in 2009. Based on cross-sectional data, assessment results revealed that crop insurance has a potential in sustaining the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, but that there was a problem of information flow, belated payout and inadequate consideration of farmers' preferences. Scaling-up crop insurance scheme in the future increasingly depends upon building farmers' knowledge on how the scheme works, through proper agricultural extension services and farmers' active participation. Signifying crop insurance as an appropriate risk management strategy, the article underlines the importance of public extension services besides appreciating farmers' motivations to take over the management and leadership of their own affairs when existing structures are not responsive in the context of practicing crop insurance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study estimates the effect of farmer field schools in rural Ethiopia on income from agriculture. The farmer field schools were established in association with participatory forest management associations for forest protection funded by Japanese aid. We employ a difference-in-differences propensity score matching approach to correct for possible biases due to selection of participants. We find that by participating in the farmer field schools, agricultural households increased their real income per worker by about 60-160 US dollars in two years on average, which is equivalent to, or even more than, the average income per worker before the project. We also find evidence that the large increase in income is due to the use of new agricultural practices, such as new varieties, taught and promoted in the farmer field schools. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]