Jema Haji Mohamed’s research while affiliated with Haramaya University and other places

Background Food and nutrition insecurities continue to be significant issues for communities in developed and developing countries, even when there are plentiful harvests. In Ethiopia, climate change and other human-induced challenges are key factors contributing to this insecurity. Research and development experts suggest that implementing sustainable livelihood diversification strategies could be a viable solution. Objectives The objective of the study was to analyze the determinants of choice of livelihood diversification strategies and its impact on food and nutrition security among smallholder farmers in the West Shoa zone, Oromia region, Ethiopia. Methods The research employed quantitative approaches for data gathering and analysis. A multistage sampling method was utilized to choose the study locations. A total of 385 smallholder farming households (215 diversifiers and 170 nondiversifiers) were randomly chosen as participants from the 2 districts and 7 rural villages in the area. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, and cross-tabs) and econometric models [multinomial logit model and multinomial endogenous switching regression (MESR) model] were employed to analyze the quantitative data. Results More than half (56%) of the farming households were able to diversify their livelihoods, whereas the remaining 44% were unable to do so, indicating a lack of means to engage in any form of livelihood diversification activity beyond agriculture. The results of the multinomial logit regression model revealed that various factors such as gender, age, family size, education level, farm experience, social norms, land ownership, livestock possession, access to credit, access to extension services, working capital, government policies, climate variability, livelihood training, and proximity to markets significantly influenced smallholder farming households’ choices and adoption of diversification strategies. The MESR model demonstrated that engaging in farming and off-farming activities could increase food and nutrition security for farm households by 74.6% and 33.3%, respectively. Similarly, participating in farming and nonfarming activities was associated with a 71.3% improvement in food security and a 42.3% enhancement in nutrition security. However, combining farming with both nonfarm and off-farm activities did not have a significant impact on food security, but it did lead to a 15.2% increase in nutrition security. Conclusions Involving smallholder farmers in livelihood diversification reduces poverty, food insecurity, and unemployment. This study shows that diversifying livelihoods positively impacts food and nutrition security by enabling farmers to produce more for consumption and income generation.

Coffee is one of the most important agricultural commodities with significant contributions to the growth and well-functioning of Ethiopia’s economy, and the social stability of the country (Alemseged, 2012). Despite its importance, the performance of the sector has been unsatisfactory due to various production- and marketing-related factors. This study was thus conducted with the objective of identifying the factors influencing the choices of marketing channels for selling dry-processed or red coffee cherries. Cross-sectional survey data were collected from 377 sample farmers selected from Gomma and Limmu Kossa districts of Jimma zone in southwestern Ethiopia through a multistage stratified simple random sampling technique. The data were collected from October 2019 to January 2020 after pretesting the questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and a multivariate probit (MVP) econometric model were used to analyse the data. The results obtained from separate MVP regression model analyses reveal that sex, coffee land size and productivity, average dry-processed coffee selling price, frequency of visits by the DA, cooperative membership, access to credit, training, off- and non-farm income sources, and distance to cooperatives’ and private traders’ marketing centers influenced the choices of local consumers, traders or cooperatives for selling dry-processed or red coffee cherries. The findings suggest that farmers should be provided with coffee production- and productivity-enhancing technologies that could increase yield and productivity and the marketed supply of coffee. Moreover, farmers should be provided with information regarding the importance of cooperatives and training on ways to improve coffee production and productivity. Finally, cooperatives should incorporate credit schemes at peak coffee production and during the marketing season so that members prefer to supply their coffee to the cooperatives and earn better coffee income at the end.