Fekadu Beyene

• Haramaya University

This study examined the level of rural households’ vulnerability to food insecurity, and its determinants in North Shewa zone of Ethiopia using cross-sectional data collected from 382 sample households. The vulnerability of households to food insecurity was estimated using vulnerability as expected poverty approach. The factors which influenced vul...

Food insecurity is more worrisome now than ever before due to unprecedented climate variability and widespread rural poverty. Research-based and policy relevant empirical evidence is crucial to design strategies to address food insecurity in the face of climate variability. Thus, this study examines the status of food insecurity among households’ a...

Background: Due attention has recently been given to the choices of sustainable land management practices (SLMPs) to reduce land degradation and improve the livelihood of smallholder farmers in developing countries. A rising number of people believe that Sustainable Land Management is an essential strategy for enhancing food security. For generatio...

Low agricultural commercialisation due to low productivity and a lack of access to and use of improved seeds are common features of smallholders in the Ethiopian highlands. Seed-producer cooperatives (SPCs) were established and strengthened in these highlands to facilitate smallholders' access to improved seed. Using survey data collected from 425...

Purpose: Coffee is one of the most important agricultural commodities with a significant contribution to the growth and well-functioning of Ethiopia’s economy, and to the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers and laborers. Despite its importance, smallholder coffee production and marketing performance have been unsatisfactory due to variou...

Smallholder farmers who rely on home garden agroforestry are experiencing significant impacts from climate change. To mitigate these effects, it is crucial for farmers to have access to various adaptation strategies. This study collected data from 384 randomly selected respondents in 18 kebeles over three districts, using descriptive statistics and...

Given the challenges brought about by the increasing frequency of climatic stressors (droughts) and other biotic challenges (pests and diseases), breeding for tolerance to these traits is now seen as an indispensable adjunct to the enhancement of yield potential. Drought tolerant (DT) maize varieties that do well under moderate drought and outperfo...

Purpose Change of climate is attributed to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere observed over comparable periods. The purpose of this paper is to explore smallholder farmers' perceptions of climate change and compare it with meteorological data, as well as to identify perceived adaptation barriers and examine the fact...

Smallholder farmers search for their product buyers in local spot market transactions. In spot market transactions, farmers will not be assured of ready markets for their production, or face volatile market prices. Similarly malt barley farmers used to face challenges of accessing input, farm technology, credit, and information that undermine their...

ABSTRACT The main purpose of this study was to analyze the relevance and effectiveness of FTCs based training in Gurawa woreda in terms of changes knowledge, attitude and practical levels, and explore institutional linkages with FTCs. This study used cross-sectional survey method to obtain necessary data froma sample size of 120 (60 trained and 60...

The paper presents the results of analysis conducted to empirically establish the role of social network in smallholder farmers’ decision to join seed producer cooperative, in Hararghe, Oromia, Ethiopia. We used a ‘random matching within sample’ technique to generate data on social links and resources shared like information among their links. Aver...

Most studies conducted in Ethiopia have given attention to the study of static food insecurity with no concern on vulnerability to food insecurity. An understanding of vulnerability to food insecurity is critically important to inform the formulation of policies and strategies to enhance food security and reduce vulnerability to food insecurity amo...

Research background: In the current competitive agricultural market, where substantial capital investment is required to pursue growth related competitive strategies, agricultural cooperatives’ performance mainly relies on members’ willingness to contribute equity capital. Members are the single and most important source of investment capital. Pur...

Vulnerability assessment varies widely across households, countries, and regions. Though many previous studies assessed vulnerability to climate change, their unit of analysis was aggregate. Therefore, the objective of this study was to measure the vulnerability of smallholder farmers to climate change at the household level and identify its determ...

This paper analysed the impact of irrigation project on agro pastoral household income in Fentalle district. It analysed factors determining agro-pastoralist participation in irrigation. The study result depends on cross-sectional data collected from a sample of 144 households of which 72 irrigators and 72 non-irrigators using a combination of mult...

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 co...

This study was conducted to identify factors that determine household's participation in small-scale irrigation. Two-stage sampling technique was used to select 167 target respondents. Both primary and secondary data were used in this study. Double hurdle model was employed to identify the determinants of participation and intensity of participatio...

Being the backbone of the Ethiopian economy, agricultural practice has been traditionally dominated for centuries by small-scale farmers. Even though small-scale irrigation is practiced in the study area, its impact on household income is not analyzed systematically for further policy action. This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of parti...

This paper examines resource-related conflict among pastoralists in southern Ethiopia, specifically the Somali and Oromo ethnic groups. It applies theories of property rights, environmental security and political ecology to discuss the complexity of the conflict, using narrative analysis and conflict mapping. Results reveal that the conflict result...

This paper aims at identifying driving forces behind land use change and the determinants of investment in land management in pastoral and agro-pastoral communities. Data were collected from 182 households through a household survey and focus group discussions. Starting with narratives, an econometric approach was used to identify the determinants....

(Agro) pastoral communities who reside in the arid and semi-arid environments of Ethiopia are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and variability specifically to the recurrent drought, floods and conflicts. From their long years of rich experiences of how to survive on such environmental pressures, (agro) pastoralists have also developed va...

This article discusses the sociocognitive processes involved in the construction of identity, territory, and inter-group conflicts in eastern Ethiopia. The article is based on data collected through extensive fieldwork in the area. The article tries to show how macro-political and institutional orientations trigger ethno-territorial dynamics that c...

This paper examines the determinants and implied economic impacts of climate change adaptation strategies in the context of traditional pastoralism. It is based on econometric analysis of survey data generated from household level interviews in southern Ethiopian rangelands. Pastoralists’ perception of climate change in the region is found to be ve...

This article analyses the dynamics of institutionalized competition in the geography of inter-ethnic rivalry between the Jarso and Girhi ethnic clans. The data required for the study was obtained from the retrospective reflections of the research participants regarding the origins, dynamics and outcomes of the local October 2004 referendum conducte...

Smallholder rural farm households face an increasing need of looking for alternative income sources to supplement their small scale agricultural activities. However, livelihood diversification is determined by complex and yet empirically untested factors in Debre Elias Woreda. Thus, the aim of this study is to assess the determinants of livelihood...

This article explores the ambiguity over property rights to forest resources in the Mejengir Zone of Gambella Regional State in western Ethiopia. Household surveys and focus group discussions were used as data collection tools. Results indicate that the complexities in forest management are mainly attributable to diversity in livelihoods as well as...

This paper examines the role of customary pastoral institutions in managing conflicts. It indicates thatintra-ethnic conflicts can be managed customarily because of shared norms attributed to the social proximity and cultural homogeneity, whereas managing inter-ethnic conflicts goes beyond the capacity of elders' council exercising customary law. T...

A number of previous studies have emphasized the determinants of land-use change, as well as the management of communal lands in the pastoral systems, without assessing the effects of such changes on pastoralists/agro-pastoralists’ food security. Therefore, the objective of this paper was to assess the determinants of food security under changing l...

This paper explores incentives and challenges in community-based rangeland management. Results from three case studies indicate variability in herders’ motivation to contribute to the conservation and management of rangeland resources. The basic reason behind the failure to ensure sustained collective action largely lies in the little effort made b...

This article identifies factors that determine households’ participation in institutional arrangements that permit reciprocal resource sharing in risky semi-arid environment. It explores the emerging challenges to clans’ institutions in governing such arrangements. On the basis of evidence from eastern Ethiopia, the article indicates that expansion...

This paper explores the major land use changes occurred in Kebribeyah district of the Somali Region in Ethiopia. It examines the driving factors of these changes over the past five decades. The study used qualitative in-depth case analysis. Results show that expansion of settlement areas, crop and vegetable land, shrinkage of grazing land and reduc...

This article discusses factors that shaped the initiation and escalation of the Jarso–Girhi violence that occurred two decades ago. The data required for the study were collected from community leaders, ordinary members of the communities, and administrative and political officers. The data were collected through one-on-one interviews, focus group...

This paper analyzes inherent incentives and institutional challenges in managing elephant sanctuary ecosystems, using the case of the Babile Elephant Sanctuary in Ethiopia. The study was based on the data collected from local communities experiencing different livelihood systems and experts from the local state authorities. A total of 35 interviews...

This paper examines claims and conflicts in the management of the Abijata-Shalla Lakes National Park in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia. We used data from households, key informants (elders, park managers), and focus group discussions. Poor wildlife policy resulting in space competition between wildlife and humans (other forms of land use), lim...

This study was conducted in southwest Ethiopia with the aim of understanding the influence of resettlement on pastoral land use. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and focus group discussion. Respondents in non-resettled kebele reported that livestock keeping was the main source of their livelihoods. Our results showed that r...

This article uses analytic narratives to explore the reasons why negotiations over rights to grazing resources repeatedly fail between neighboring pastoral and agropastoral communities. While many writers link resource scarcity, the resulting competition and state institutional failure as common drivers for conflict among multiple resource users in...

This study was conducted in southwest Ethiopia with the aim of understanding the influence of resettlement on pastoral land use. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and focus group discussion. Respondents in non-resettled kebele reported that livestock keeping was the main source of their livelihoods. Our results showed that r...

This study employs a contingent valuation method to estimate willingness to pay for improved rural water supply. It provides information on the demand for improved services and the potential for them to be sustainable. The analysis was based on data collected from 132 households using rural water utilities for at least three years. Both binary and...

Despite the continuing economic centrality of agriculture in the district, farm households engage and pursue diverse non-farm livelihood activities to cope with diverse challenges and risks such as drought. This paper aims to assess the relative importance of existing livelihood strategies adopted by the different socio-economic groups; the link be...

This paper examines factors determining willingness to contribute to collective forest management at Godere Forest Priority Area in the Gambela Region of Ethiopia. Using data collected from 160 households, we tested a number of hypotheses. Results show that households that perceived destruction, a belief in beneficiaries’ responsibility for the for...

This paper examines the emerging challenges to common property resource management in pastoral areas of Ethiopia and a shift in livelihood strategies. Using the institutional analysis and development framework and data from three administrative districts in eastern Ethiopia, results show that traditional management of the rangeland that permits eff...

Seed is the basic input to crop production. Farmer-based seed production as an alternative agricultural technology transfer is increasingly given especial attention in developing countries where food insecurity is critical. This paper aims to assess the seed production and dissemination strategy among smallholder farmers in eastern Ethiopia that ha...

This article tries to show the impacts of conflict on women, the role of women in conflict and indigenous conflict resolution, and the participation of women in social institutions and ceremonies among the Issa and Gurgura clans of the Somali ethnic group. It explores the system of conflict resolution in these clans, and women’s representation in t...

This paper explores institutional arrangements governing reciprocal grazing resource sharing among different pastoral and agropastoral clans in eastern Ethiopia. It describes and compares multiple institutional arrangements that define non-exclusive property rights in order to increase the social and economic efficiency of grazing resource uses in...

This paper examines the effects of rangeland enclosure on herders’ livelihoods and property rights. The analysis is based on the household survey and focus group discussions among pastoral and agropastoral households (from three administrative districts in eastern Ethiopia) who have practiced enclosure and who have been affected by practices of oth...

This article examines how customary tenure provides a basis for reciprocal access arrangements and facilitates access to grazing resources in order to adapt to changing conditions. A critical review of the literature on the range ecology and institutions of resource governance guides the overall analysis, while empirical results from three case stu...

The paper analyses factors influencing rangeland enclosure practices among groups of herders in eastern Ethiopia. The study employed logistic and linear regressions to identify the determinants. Linear regression results show that the labor endowment of a household has a positive influence on households' decision to enclose. Greater network density...

This paper examines the incentives driving expansion of rangeland enclosure. It explores the role of customary authorities in defining and enforcing rights to private use of land and attempts to scrutinize whether informal rules emerge to respond to these needs and even become an incentive to establish private enclosures as well as to delineate the...

This paper explores collective activities in water-point management by pastoral and agropastoral herders. It examines conditions that strengthen or weaken cooperative behaviour. By employing a comparative case study approach, the paper covers three types of water-points: ponds, cisterns and water wells. Results show that factors beyond the expectat...

This paper examines inter-ethnic conflict over grazing land previously accessed as common property. It presents results of a study undertaken in Mieso district of eastern Ethiopia where two ethnic groups maintain different production systems – pastoral and agropastoral. The historical change in land use by one of the ethnic groups, resource scarcit...

"In Ethiopian development policies, pastoralist areas have recently attracted more attention. However, much debate and policy advice is still based on assumptions that see a sedentary lifestyle as the desirable development outcome for pastoralist communities. This paper investigates current practices of collective action and how these are affected...

This paper identifies factors that determine involvement of pastoral and agropastoral households in various collective activities. It also assesses the effects of collective action on household food security. The analysis is based on data collected from experts, elders and 160 households. A discrete choice model was developed to specify the determi...

This paper examines interethnic conflict on grazing land previously accessed as common property. The study was undertaken in Mieso District of eastern Ethiopia where two ethnic groups experience different production systems – pastoral and agropastoral. Game theoretic approach and analytic narratives have been used as analytical tools. Results show...

An increasing scarcity of water for crop farming and livestock watering among agropastoralists of Mieso in Eastern Ethiopia has largely disrupted their livelihoods. Indigenous water well maintenance and government initiated rainwater harvesting are two important collective actions common among these communities. With the aim of examining collective...

"Rangeland resources in the pastoral and agropastoral system are facing new threats of numerous causes. The on-going scholarly and policy debate whether pastoralism, which entails communal use of grazing resources, has to be pursued as a livelihood or should somehow be altered needs to be supported with empirical evidence. Without taking either sid...

An increasing scarcity of water for crop farming and livestock watering among agropastoralists of Mieso in Eastern Ethiopia has largely disrupted their livelihoods. Indigenous water well maintenance and government initiated rainwater harvesting are two important collective actions common among these communities. With the aim of examining collective...

In view of remaining ambiguities in the literature on common-pool resources (CPR), this paper makes a twofold argument: first, it proposes a methodology to study the emergence of institutions that govern CPR use employing the analytic narratives approach which combines game theoretical reasoning with empirical narratives and thus combines inductive...

Migration remains central for households and communities to enhance their access to livelihoods assets through investing in the creation of social capital (networks and personal relations). This paper assesses the causes and consequences of out-migration on rural households' livelihood in the district. It also identifies the dominant informal migra...