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Agriculture has been recognized as a key sector to leverage for improved food security. Yet, the evidence on agriculture-gender linkages to food security is still scarce and winding. This study investigates the impact of women empowerment in agriculture on efficiency and food security of households and individuals. Cross-sectional data was collected from 245 women, 80 children and 250 households surveyed in Libokemem district, Ethiopia. Stochastic frontier model was used to determine the level and determinants of efficiency and generalized structural equation modeling to examine empowerment, efficiency and food security nexus. Around 33 % of households, 44 % of women and 28 % of children in the district were food insecure while 64 % of households had adequate levels of women empowerment and their efficiency in crop farming was 65.2 %. This suggests farmers have the potential to increase crop production by about 35 % at existing levels of inputs. Women are disempowered in two major domains including heavy workload and lack of voice in production decisions, which contributed to a marked level of disempowerment at 48 and 22 % respectively. The findings also revealed women empowerment improved dietary diversity and ensured food security for women, children and households. The interaction pathways helped enhance food diversification and better market orientation of farms encouraged these outcomes to increase among all aforementioned groups. However, the adverse implication of efficiency interaction proved to be stronger than its direct positive effect, the efficiency interaction pathway yielded net reduction of these outcomes across all groups. In conclusion, empowering women in agriculture does not just augment market orientation of farmers, it also improves food security of households and vulnerable individuals. This requires interventions specifically targeting those dimensions of disempowerment to increase empowerment to affect the agriculture-food-nutrition nexus positively. Some even suggest gender has a disconnecting/adverse effect on these linkages.

This study examines challenges faced by middle-level social studies teachers in West Gojjam, Ethiopia, while implementing the Constructivist Teaching and Learning Approach (CTLAT). 178 social studies teachers were randomly selected and eight were chosen using maximum variation sampling based on characteristics such as teaching experience, female representation, school location, and willingness to observe the classroom. Findings indicate a lack of commitment, resource scarcity, teacher and student pedagogical preferences, and inadequate training. Additional obstacles, including teachers’ deficiencies in constructivist skills, student preference for note-taking, and a lack of accountability, affected the practice of CTLA. The study emphasizes that institutional, teacher, student, parent, and curriculum-related challenges significantly affect the implementation of CTLA in social studies classrooms. To overcome these challenges, teachers are encouraged to adopt constructivist techniques and stay informed through reading, professional development, and sharing experiences. The study concludes with a request for educational institutions and stakeholders to prioritize and emphasize CTLA adoption.

AbstractThis study examined the impact of the adoption of Korra tef (Eragrostis tef) on farm households’ welfare in Ethiopia. It was conducted with 479 farmers during the 2020 cropping season. 221 of them were Korra adopters and the remaining were non-adopters who adopted other alternative tef varieties like Boset, Dagim, Dursi, Flagot, Warekiyu, Hiber and Tesfa. Qualitative data were also collected from the pertinent key informants. The amount of tef production per hectare was used to measure household productivity, and a Household Commercialization Index (HCI) was used to determine the level of their commercialization. Welfare was proxied by measuring consumption per adult equivalent. One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was employed to investigate farmers’ spending at various levels of commercialization. The Propensity Score Matching (PSM) method was used to investigate how the Korra tef impacted adopters’ welfare in comparison to non-adopters. A strong correlation was found between the adopters’ spending and commercialization. The adoption of the Korra tef showed a positive and significant impact on the expenditures of the adopters. Therefore, it is important to strengthen the value chain of tef in addition to promoting access to Korra tef. Governmental and non-governmental organizations should provide farmers with market-focused extension services, to enable them to increase crop productivity and engage in the market, thereby enhancing their welfare. [Figure: see text]

AbstractThe government and other development practitioners in Ethiopia have promoted crop technologies like improved tef varieties to improve crop productivity of farmers and, in turn, their commercialization status. The commercialization impacts of these crops, however, were not thoroughly examined. This study examined the commercialization impact of adopting improved tef variety (Korra) in North-western Ethiopia using cross-sectional data of 479 tef producer farm households drawn from two districts, one from the adopters and the other from non-adopters. A multi-stage sampling procedure was followed to select the respondents. A semi-structured questionnaire was used as a principal primary data collection method to collect household survey data, and interviews were conducted with the relevant key informants of the study. The extent of smallholder commercialization was examined using the Household Commercialization Index (HCI), and the impact of Korra tef adoption on adopters’ commercialization was estimated using Propensity Score Matching (PSM). The HCI result revealed that 46.95% of sampled farmers sold tef during 2020; while it was 58.92% and 36.7% for the adopters and non-adopters, respectively. This indicated that the non-adopters and adopters were, respectively, semi- and commercialized. The PSM result also revealed a positive and significant impact on households’ tef commercialization, with the adopters’ commercialization rate exceeding the non-adopters by about 23.43%. Hence, efforts should focus on ensuring that farmers have access to sufficient quantities of high-quality improved Korra tef seed as well as encouraging improved access to institutional services for the same. [Figure: see text]

The study was conducted to examine the implications of the Common Interest Group (CIG) scheme for rural livelihood change in the selected areas of the Wara-Jarso woreda, Central Ethiopia. The study focuses on the activities of the CIGs, their effectiveness, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, along with the changes in the livelihood status of CIG members. Four CIGs that fits into the aim of the study were purposively selected from the CIGs operating in the woreda. Among a qualitative research approach, a case study was employed. The data were collected from January 1, 2021 to February 28, 2021. Primary data were gathered using Focus Group Discussions and Key Informant Interviews. A thorough desk review of official documents and other secondary sources was made as an auxiliary method to capture sets of relevant information. The data organization was performed by the MAXQDA 2020 qualitative data analysis package program. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis, relational analysis, and content analysis methods. It was found that the CIGs have encouraged strong social capital among members and becomes an important alternative financial source. It was also found that the CIGs operation has encountered problems related to lack of entrepreneurial education and skill training, monitoring and evaluation, workplace, coordination among stakeholders, inadequate and improper financial use, and non-existence of market linkage. Their strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities were also indicated. For successful rural women and youth livelihood change through the CIGs scheme, the study recommends access to entrepreneurial skill training, coordination among relevant stakeholders, strong monitoring and evaluation, access to market linkage and workplace, and adequate funding.

In the rapidly growing world, where farming land is shrinking due to horizontal urban expansion and development-induced projects, agricultural productivity should grow by 70% to meet food needs. Spatial urban expansion in developing countries, not exceptional to Ethiopia, puts immense pressure by taking peri-urban fertile agricultural land for the purpose of development. This paper examines whether urban expansion increases or decreases the agricultural technology adoption capacity of smallholder peri-urban farmers. Households were clustered into displaced and non-displaced, and data were collected from 341 households, 101 of whom were displaced and 240 households were non-displaced. Descriptive statistics and econometric model were employed to explore the role of urban expansion in technology adoption of smallholder peri-urban farmers. The multivariate probit result shows that urban expansion decreases the tendency of displaced smallholder peri-urban farmers to participate in irrigation and adoption of a generator but urban expansion does not increase or decrease displaced households’ tendency to adopt beehive and practice row sawing. Generally, urban expansion decreases the affinity of smallholder peri-urban farmers to adopt agricultural technologies. Therefore, policymakers, particularly the Bureau of Agriculture should intensively work and train displaced smallholder peri-urban farmers on the benefit of agricultural technologies to improve agricultural productivity and use the remaining plot of farmland sustainably. Besides strong monitoring and follow-up are required to avert the negative ramifications of development-induced displacement.

Urban expansion in African and other developing countries occurred and happening by encroaching fertile agricultural land. As a result, close to fifteen million people are displaced every year. This paper examines the consequences of urban expansion on peri-urban farmers' poverty. Data was generated from 341 (101 treated, 240 control) smallholder Peri-urban farmers'. Inferential statistics, propensity score matching (PSM), econometric models, and poverty measurements were applied and analyzed using Stata version 14 software. The impact assessment estimation showed the prevalence of poverty was higher by 5% poverty than non-displaced households. The intensity and incidence of poverty were also found higher among displaced households. Displaced and non-displaced households were deprived 49.4% and 46.5% of weighted indicators respectively, while the incidence of poverty was found 69% and 59% respectively. In sum, 34.1% of displaced and 27.4% of non-displaced households were poor. Besides the overall percentage of contribution of education, health, and living standard dimensions were 15.4%, 28.8%, and 55.8% among displaced households respectively. While percentage contribution of education, health, and living standard among non-displaced households were 15.1%, 26%, and 58.9% respectively. Therefore, the prevalence of poverty was higher in displaced households than in non-displaced households. The binary logistic regression also revealed out of the 13 covariates only four variables were found statistically significant. Of the four variables, except treatment effect or being displaced the rest variables family size, farming experience, and market distance were negatively affect household poverty. In conclusion, in all aspects, the result indicated that the prevalence of poverty was higher among evicted farmers. Therefore, government bodies should design strong strategies to avert the impact of urban expansion on peri-urban farmers. A separate department should be established which follow and provide training on time, and horizontal urban expansion should be changed to vertical expansion.