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The expansion of agricultural land through deforestation is becoming a serious problem in several regions of Ethiopia. The research was carried out in the Adami Tulu Jido Kombolcha district due to the observed expansion of agricultural land at the expense of forests. Therefore, this study aims to identify direct and indirect factors affecting land use and land cover change from forest to agriculture. Data was collected using household surveys, key informant interviews (KIIs), and focus group discussions (FGDs). Household surveys were conducted on 244 randomly selected households. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the DPSIR framework to develop relationships between drivers, pressures, conditions, influences, and responses. The result shows that most farmers clear forests to expand their agricultural land. Further, the results showed that the proximate causes of the conversion of forest to agriculture were charcoal production, large-scale agriculture, and small-scale farming, as well as poverty, unemployment, and lack of enforcement of forestry laws, and weak forest policy were identified as the main indirect causes of agricultural land expansion at the expense of forests. In addition, the results indicate that the consequences of changing land use from forestry to agriculture are loss of biodiversity, increased soil erosion, floods and droughts, and shortages of wood, buildings, and fuel. The study results suggest that awareness-raising activities on the use of natural resources and the impacts of deforestation, as well as forest policies and strict enforcement of forestry laws, are important to establish and maintain appropriate use of land in that particular area.

Woodfuel production and consumption have been a concern for multiple stakeholders involved in household energy use, deforestation, and climate change. While research into the underlying decision-making process is growing, it remains insufficient. Such a study offers opportunities to develop policies that enable diversification of household energy consumption and livelihood options away from woodfuel use. Policymakers often lack an understanding of factors correlated with households' participation in woodfuel production. Therefore, this study examined the correlation between household participation in woodfuel production and factors that influence households' participation in woodfuel production in dryland areas of Ethiopia. Data were collected from 1,114 purposively selected woodfuel-producing and non-producing households through household surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions. The sample included 775 participant households and 339 non-participant households. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a binary logistic regression model. The results revealed that drought and related shocks are the main factors that forced households to participate in woodfuel production. The model results indicated that age, education, landholding, livestock holding, production asset value, ownership of improved cook stoves, number of years lived in the area, distance from the forest, access to forest extension, and institutional membership are statistically significant factors that negatively influence household participation in woodfuel production. On the other hand, household expenditure and drought occurrence positively and significantly influence the participation of households in woodfuel production. The findings of the study suggest that sustainable management and utilization of dryland forest resources require considering socioeconomic, demographic, institutional, and environmental factors correlated with households' decisions to participate in woodfuel production. This can be achieved through sound institutional setups and policy frameworks in the sector.

Ethiopia has favorable agro-climate, topography, relatively low-cost labor, and rich fungal biodiversity. However, the country has a poor response to mushroom production and hence, currently, a huge amount of mushrooms is imported to the country. Information on the import-export trends of the mushrooms trade and market is lacking for taking appropriate measures. The study aims to evaluate the current status and future trends as well as prospects of mushroom import export in Ethiopia. The imported-exported data were collected from Ethiopian Custom Commission in the years of 1997 – 2020. The analysis was conducted using descriptive statistical tools and the ARIMA model in excel and STATA, respectively. The result indicates that the average imported and exported quantity is 88.3 and 5.1 tonnes of mushrooms per year, respectively. Similarly, the country spent an average of US$ 154,199 per year on imported mushrooms while it earned an average of US$ 11,074 per year from exported mushrooms, which is a trade deficit. The result further indicated that on average the quantities of mushrooms imported to the country and the expenditure to import increased yearly by 53 % and 44%, respectively. The forecasted result shows that Ethiopia will spend 483,528.3 US$ on mushroom imports in 2040 as indicated in the findings. However, mushroom productions pave the way for national revenue if given serious consideration and will reduce the food import value. Further, it is recommended that the country has to emphasize the expansion of mushrooms to meet the growing demand and substitute the imported mushroom.

The study was conducted in Heban Arsi district, Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia to investigate the contribution of participatory forest management (PFM) to improving household's livelihood assets and mitigating forest degradation. Data were gathered using household surveys, observation, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. During the entire study, 231 households (131 from PFM; 100 form non-PFM households), 35 key informants (25 from PFM; 10 from non-PFM) and 10 focus groups (6 from PFM; 4 from non-PFM) were involved. The livelihood assets framework was used to organize and analyze the quantitative data. The qualitative data was analyzed using topic coding and building categories, themes, and patterns of relationships. The introduction of PFM significantly (P

Wood fuel is not only the main source of energy for both rural and urban households but also a vital means of livelihood diversification for rural households to improve livelihood capital in developing countries like Ethiopia. However, the status of wood fuel producers' livelihood capital and their vulnerability is poorly understood in the drylands of Ethiopia. The main purpose of the research is to characterize the livelihoods of firewood and charcoal producers as well as identify sources of livelihoods' vulnerability in the dryland areas of the country. These urge to transit for sustainable energy use. The study used survey data collected from 857 sampled wood fuel producer households and Focus Group Discussions. The data were analyzed descriptively using livelihood measurement indicators and livelihood vulnerability indexes (exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity indicators) in the context of farming, agro-pastoralist, and pastoralist communities. Results indicated that generally financial, human, and social capital of wood fuel producers were low whereas natural and physical capital were better. Results also indicated engagement in the production of wood fuel strengthened the producers' livelihood capital and delivered other benefits such as opportunities for livelihood diversification as well as reducing vulnerability and improved livelihoods. The pastoral and agro-pastoral communities' livelihood capital sources were more vulnerable than farming communities. The study has also identified that wood fuel production was one of the major coping strategies employed by the sampled households to mitigate the effects of different shocks. Finally, the study results implied that wood fuel production is the highest priority area of intervention to improve the livelihoods of communities in the dry lands. It is also worthwhile to establish sustainable approaches for wood fuel production keeping the dry land forest and environment safe. This calls policy for a just transition toward an equitable wood fuel production system with the potential to deliver sustainable energy and rural development through the incorporation of wood fuel importance to rural livelihoods.

The challenges to agroecological transitions are not the same for all farmers and implementation of agroecological practices in different locations could yield different results. With this consideration, this study was conducted in Aba-Garima watershed in northwestern Ethiopia to characterize the structure and activities of farming households and assess factors influencing the implementation and sustainability of agroecological practices. Data were collected from 218 households, 16 key informants, and 12 focus group discussions. The Multivariate Probit model and descriptive statistics were employed to analyze factors influencing farmers’ choices of different agroecological practices and describe the characteristics of farming households. The qualitative data analysis was processed through topic coding and building categories, themes, and patterns of relationships. Farmers realize the importance of both farm and landscape level agroecological practices to enhance income earning capacity, achieve food security and protect the environment. However, most of the agroecological practices are very difficult to start using for various constraining factors including limited access to water, and shortages of money, land and labor. The results suggest that depending on different socio-economic characteristics of farming households, agroecological practices that appear common practices can be very difficult to use for some farmers, while it would be possible for other farmers. The constraining factors are also differently associated with different practices, involving diverse perspectives of different socio-economic groups. The paper discussed the existing agroecological practices, the perspectives of different socio-economic groups on these practices and the factors influencing the implementation as well as the conditions that can facilitate the wider adoption of agroecological practices in the study area.