African Studies Commons^™

Blending Of Traditional And Modern Technologies Through Science, Berhanu Gizaw

International Conference on African Development Archives

While the developed world benefits from the modern explosion in technology, countries such as Ethiopia are still reliant on the methods of there fore fathers for essential every day tasks like farming, cooling and provision of clean water. These tasks are often physically demanding, very costly in terms of time and energy, and, in many such societies, are often carried out by female members of the family. Additionally, they may cause damage to the local ecology and environment such as the deforestation and soil erosion arising from the use of trees for firewood. Western technologies are of little or no …

Ethiopian Macroeconomic Modeling In Historical Perspective: Bringing Gebre-Hiwot And His Contemporaries To Ethiopian Macroeconomics Realm, Alemayehu Geda

International Conference on African Development Archives

Much of the macroeconomic analysis in Ethiopia is hardly linked to the country’s pioneer development thinkers. The latter, however, articulated the Ethiopian development problems and what should be the appropriate policy direction to address them nearly a century ago. This articulated development thinkers of the early 20th century Ethiopia had captured the imagination of prominent Ethiopian historians and their students. Ethiopian economists seem to lag behind in appreciating the theoretical insight of these pioneer development thinkers. This article is aimed at bridging this gap. The paper will, first, reviews the economic ideas of theses reformer-intellectuals and then build a linear …

The Future Impact Of Adoption Of Soil Conservation Strategy At Family Level In The Highlands Of Ethiopia, Senait Regassa, Werner Doppler

International Conference on African Development Archives

In the highlands of Ethiopia, soil erosion is a bottleneck to maintain land productivity. In order to mitigate the problem of land degradation, the Soil Conservation Research Project (SCRP) developed and disseminated a number of soil conservation techniques. The studies done so far dealt with the impact of these techniques on yield and profitability of farming. However, poor farmers take not only yield and profitability into consideration but also many other factors. This study was initiated to assess the future impact of adoption of bund construction on family income, external labour requirement, cash balance, credit need, and dependence on purchased …

Land Tenure And Land Management Technology: A Case Study From The Central Ethiopia, Workneh Negatu

International Conference on African Development Archives

Land in Ethiopia is a public property. Farmers have use right to transfer or lease use rights of agricultural land. Thus, land tenure systems under the existing public ownership of land derive from official allocation by local government authorities and/or through transfer of land use rights. Farmers' practice of leasing agricultural land in the country is mostly limited to a few years, for instance to maximum of three years in one agreement. The common types of transaction of agricultural land include inheritance, cash renting, sharecropping and gift. The process and act of land transfer among land users, however, is often …

Land Tenure And Land Management In The Highlands Of Northern Ethiopia, Berhanu Gebremedhin, John Pender, Simeon Ehui

International Conference on African Development Archives

Land tenure security is important to encourage investment in land improvements as well as the development of efficient land markets. In Ethiopia, empirical analysis is required to find out the effect of the current land tenure system on farmers’ propensity to invest in land improvements, and the development and functioning of land markets. Data collected from 50 communities in the highlands of Tigray in 1998 was used to investigate the functioning of land markets, and determine the relationship between perceived land tenure security and land investments in the region. We found out that informal land markets (sharecropping and fixed rental) …

Policy Options For Improving Market Participation And Sales Of Smallholder Livestock Producers: A Case Study Of Ethiopia, Simeon Ehui, Samuel Benin, Zelekawork Paulos

International Conference on African Development Archives

Market access plays an essential role in assuring better income and welfare levels for smallholder livestock producers, and thus contributes to poverty alleviation. This is even more so in the Ethiopian context where livestock play an essential role in the economy. Making use of the Heckman estimation procedure, this paper identifies policy and technology options to increase participation and sales of smallholder producers in livestock markets in Ethiopia, based on data from 934 household surveys conducted between 1999 and 2001 in the highlands of Tigray and Amhara regions in northern Ethiopia. The analysis demonstrates that physical capital (ownership of different …

Rural Poverty, Food Insecurity And Environmental Degradation In Ethiopia: A Case Study From South Central Ethiopia, Sisay Asefa, Tesfaye Zegeye

International Conference on African Development Archives

This paper addresses the challenge of reducing poverty, food insecurity, and natural resource degradation, and abolishing recurrent famines in Ethiopia. With a population of about 65 million, Ethiopia is one of the largest and most populated countries in Africa. Ethiopia can be regarded as a microcosm of Africa due to its vast and diverse agro-ecology and population. Physically, it ranges from 200 meters to over 4000 meters above sea level. It has about 18 agro-ecological, zones and diverse population of some 85 ethnic or linguistic groups. The paper begins by addressing the conceptual relationship among food insecurity, poverty and natural …

Status And Prospects Of Farm Forestry Practices In Central Ethiopia, A Case Of Western Guraghe Highlands, Negussie Achalu, Holm Uibrig, Guido Weisshahn

International Conference on African Development Archives

The objective of the present study is to assess farm forestry decision-making strategies of smallholder farmers and to identify major choice constraints. It attempts to determine the potential of integrating multipurpose tree and shrub species into the existing land use units and its contribution to the objective of guaranteeing food self-sufficiency and sustainable livelihood. It also sheds some light on the deficiencies of current extension packages in helping farmers exploit the potentials of agroforestry innovations.

Farmers in the study area mainly employ eucalypt as major on-farm tree species both for meeting household wood demands and generating cash revenues. Farmers’ decisions …

Determinants Of Access To Credit And Loan Amount: Household-Level Evidence From Urban Ethiopia, Abi Kedir

International Conference on African Development Archives

Household level analysis of credit rationing is restricted to rural data sets collected mainly from South East Asia. In Africa, credit constraints are often investigated using firm level data. Empirical evidence on determinants of credit constraints and amount borrowed by urban households is almost non-existent from Sub-Saharan Africa. Using an extended direct approach, we analyzed the Fourth Round Ethiopian Urban Household Survey (2000) to separate households that do not have access to credit from those who do. We find a high percentage (i.e. 26.6%) of credit-constrained households, the majority of which constitute discouraged borrowers. A probit model and a tobit …

Pastoral Livelihoods In Urban And Peri-Urban Spaces Of Ethiopia: The Case Of Yabello, Borana Zone, Edlam Aberra

International Conference on African Development Archives

This paper outlines the emergence of pastoral settlements in urban and peri-urban spaces of Ethiopia focusing on Yabello, the present capital of Borana zone. By doing so, the paper seeks to contribute to ongoing debates on the manner in which pastoral livelihoods are changing in Ethiopia, and elsewhere in Africa. More specifically, a livelihoods approach is adopted to examine the wellbeing of Borana pastoralists in peri-urban spaces of Yabello in terms of their asset status and use of those assets to pursue various livelihood strategies. The conceptualization of assets goes beyond economic assets to incorporate social and human assets which …

Household’S Consumption Pattern And Demand For Energy In Urban Ethiopia, Samuel Faye Gamtessa

International Conference on African Development Archives

This study looks into the energy demand and consumption pattern of households in selected urban areas. The analysis indicates that the use of traditional fuels dominates households' consumption pattern. However, the extent of the dominance varies across cities/towns and across income groups. A multivariate analysis of the consumption pattern reveals that the probability of consuming traditional fuels in general declines with increase in income and prices of the traditional fuels where as it increases with the increase in the prices of the modern fuels. The probability of consuming modern fuels increases with increase in income and prices of the traditional …

The Role Of Esrdf In Empowering Communities: The Case Of Addis Ababa Regional Office, Alemayehu Semunigus

International Conference on African Development Archives

The ESRDF, one of the biggest projects funded by the World Bank in Ethiopia, was established on 13 February 1996. It was designed to provide financial and technical support to poor, mainly rural and women communities and community groups, to construct or rehabilitate and maintain basic economic and social infrastructure and services, as well as environmental conservation actions that they prioritized and in which they are willing to invest. In its technical support ESRDF was envisaged to give greater emphasis on strengthening community capacity in project identification, implementation and maintenance. ESRDF is a semi autonomous office and was organized on …

Educating The Community, Meskerem Shiferaw

International Conference on African Development Archives

This paper explores the current situation of the country, the present policy of the Education sector and its current situation, the extent of enrollment at all levels, gender disparity in enrollment, quality, efficiency and equity in education. The contribution of Non-Governmental Organizations and private investment in the sector's development is also discussed. Owing to the persistent problems of the sector, the presenter's recommends a model educational center based on Non-Formal Education for parents of poor children. Finally conclusion and recommendations are presented.

Resource Quality And Agricultural Productivity: Evidence From Sub-Saharan Africa And Implications For Ethiopia, Abebayehu Tegene, Keith D. Wiebe

International Conference on African Development Archives

Over the next several decades, trends in population, income, and urbanization are projected to raise world demand for cereals, roots, and tubers by about 40%, and for meat by about 60% (Pinstrup-Andersen, Pandya-Lorch, and Rosegrant, 1999). Population and demand for agricultural products are projected to grow nearly twice as fast in sub- Saharan Africa, at 2-3% per year, as they are in the world as a whole (FAO, 2000). Given land constraints in some areas and environmental concerns about agricultural land expansion in others, most of the increased production necessary to meet this demand will have to come from increased …

Agroforestry And Community Forestry For Rehabilitation Of Degraded Watersheds On The Ethiopian Highlands, Badege Bishaw, Abdu Abdelkadir

International Conference on African Development Archives

Despite the efforts made to develop Ethiopian agriculture over the years, the problems of hunger, famine, and malnutrition and land degradation still linger and present the greatest threat to the survival of the nation. With the new thrust to produce more food using high input and single crop farming, today’s farmers grow only one or two crops in monoculture systems. The traditional diversification of farmlands, which arguably has been the source of sustenance in rural Ethiopia since time immemorial, has largely been abandoned. Furthermore, deforestation, accelerated soil erosion, and land degradation are now serious problems in Ethiopia. As a result …

Holistic Integrated Youth-Centered Development: Need For Change Of Focus, Yared Mammo

International Conference on African Development Archives

Today, the world knows Ethiopia for its abject poverty, war, drought and severe HIV/AIDS prevalence. For these problems, many causes can be mentioned. Some of these are poor or underutilization of the available resources, Lack of good governance, lack of vision, lack of determination and commitment, absence of transparency and accountability. Equally, the inability to use the youth as a key development tool is the formidable cause for remaining in abject poverty. Due to these various reasons, we could not actualize this potential (youth) in to reality (for fighting poverty and achieving sustainable development). In developing countries like Ethiopia, the …

Perspectives On Food Crop Production For Combating Famine In Ethiopia, Brhane Gebrekidan

International Conference on African Development Archives

Feeding the ever-growing Ethiopian population with the continuously shrinking land holdings and nutrient depleted soils is going to be very difficult to say the least. The realistic option under the current Ethiopian scenario is to increase the food productivity per unit of land. The science and the technological options available to realize higher productivity than what the average Ethiopian farmer gets are widely available both locally and internationally. Assuming that all of the non-technical institutional and policy issues bearing on solving the famine problem in Ethiopia are addressed adequately, my perspective focuses on the technological options to curtail famine and …

Conceptualising Famine In Ethiopia, Getnet Alemu

International Conference on African Development Archives

This paper attempts to explain the nature of recurrent famine, not just as a result of a series of adventitious effects, but more importantly as the unintended outcome of an exclusionary growth model. This adventitious effects matter a great deal, but their impact can only be understood in the light of the inherent weakness of the growth model, which impoverished the peasantry and hence generated their vulnerability to famine.

An Economic Analysis Of Fiscal Federalism In Ethiopia, Abu Girma Moges

International Conference on African Development Archives

Fiscal federalism is a process of redistribution of fiscal decision-making power in an effort to improve the performance of the public sector in resource mobilization, efficient resource allocation and in the process enabling the economy achieve fast and sustainable economic growth. This paper addresses the economic rationale, implications and concerns of pursuing fiscal federalism in a poor country and in a political environment of ethnic federalism. The main findings suggest that when fiscal decentralization is exercised with high horizontal and vertical imbalances, it fails to diversify public output in line with the preferences and priorities of local population and to …

Papers Of The Second International Conference On Development Studies In Ethiopia, Sisay Asefa

International Conference on African Development Archives

Introductory remarks of the Second International Conference on Development Studies in Ethiopia, July 11-12, 2003, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

An Alternative View To The “Africa Dummy”, Paulos Gutema

International Conference on African Development Archives

For the last four decades the pace of economic growth in African countries remained too slow or stagnant. This problem is analyzed by first developing a framework that focus on growth process of indigent economy, where deferring current consumption is hardly possible, and by relaxing the usual assumption of unfailing market condition. The analytic result suggests that the degree and direction of effects of factors of market failure make a difference in nations' level of income per capita as well as its rate of growth. On this ground, the poor economic performance observed in the region can be well attributed …

Market Incentives, Farmers’ Response And A Policy Dilemma: A Case Study On Expansion Of Chat Production As A Cash Crop In The Eastern Ethiopian Highlands.\, Tesfaye Lemma Tefera, Johann Kirsten, Sylvain Perret

International Conference on African Development Archives

This paper discusses the reasons for and effects of the dramatic expansion of chat production as a cash crop in the Hararghe Highlands of Ethiopia. Despite the Ministry of Agriculture’s deliberate attempt to marginalize and openly discourage chat production, farmers continue shifting their scarce resources to chat production. Using data generated by a rural livelihood survey from 197 randomly selected households, economic and non-economic factors contributing to the expansion of chat production are identified and its food and nutritional security impact was analyzed. The case study confirms once more again the power of market incentives in encouraging agricultural activity of …

Environment Stress And Increased Vulnerability To Impoverishment And Survival In Ethiopia: A Synthesis, Tesfaye Teklu

International Conference on African Development Archives

At the core of this short paper is explaining the persistence of environment-induced famine conditions in rural Ethiopia. To start with, there are important empirical findings that set the context. First, poverty is Ethiopia is widespread and deep (MEDaC, 1999; MFDE, 2002). Officially reported poverty head-count measure based on the 1995 nationally representative consumption survey, for example, shows that 45.5 percent of the Ethiopian population could not afford costs of privately provisioned basic needs (MEDaC, 1999). The high-order poverty estimates also point poverty is deep and unequal among the poor.

Macroeconomic Development And Private Sector Performance In Ethiopia: The 1990’S Experience, Melesse Minale

International Conference on African Development Archives

After the downfall of the military government in 1991, the transitional government of Ethiopia committed itself to implement the stabilization and structural adjustment program with the help of the IMF and the World Bank. The objective of the program was to remove cost-price distortions, improve market related incentives, promote private enterprises and exports, and liberalize the economy and to reduce the role of the public sector in the economy. The a private led competitive economy operating under a free market and prudent fiscal and monetary policy environments was optimistically expected to emerge from this. The practical experience of the last …

Are More Children A Blessing? Determinants Of The Demand For Children In Jimma, Ethiopia, Bedassa Tadesse, Sisay Asefa

International Conference on African Development Archives

Based on data from a cross-section of urban households in Southwestern Ethiopia, in this paper, we examine some endogenous household characteristics that could be targeted through market-based policy measure(s). We use a count data model and the theory of consumer behavior to first identify some important socio-economic determinants of the demand for children. Then, we simulate the average number of children desired by a woman of median household characteristics and the extent to which an exogenously set population policy goal of lower fertility can be achieved. Finally, we present the extent by which market based policy measures could help reduce …

1st Annual International Conference On Contemporary Development Issues In Ethiopia, Western Michigan University

International Conference on African Development Archives

No abstract provided.

“Today's Children, Tomorrow's Leaders”: Are We Neglecting The Agents Of Change?, Assegedetch Hailemariam

International Conference on African Development Archives

There is an abundant body of knowledge that suggests that early experience influences later human behavior. This paper reviews and analyzes existing literature to demonstrate that human development, at the individual level, has far reaching consequences on social, economic and political development of a people. For instance, education, one measure of human development, has been inaccessible to more than 50% of school age children in Ethiopia. To effect fundamental changes in Ethiopia, attention and resources must be dedicated to children’s well being and potential. In addition, the paper discusses early psychological processes in human development in contrast to the current …

Nationalism As A Contingent Event: Som Ereflections On The Ethio-Eriterean Experience, Mesfin Araya

International Conference on African Development Archives

What is politically significant and what really attracts scholarly research in any nationalism is the awakening of the masses - i.e. the effective transition from elite-based to mass-based nationalism; this study is concerned with that transition in the Eritrean experience in the modern political history of Ethiopia.

Financing Small Famer Development In Ethiopia, Haileleul Getahun

International Conference on African Development Archives

Agriculture in Ethiopia is the most important sector, as measured by its contribution to total output, employment, and export earnings. Small –scale peasant farming is the most predominant mode of cultivation, and it is the peasant farmer who has suffered the most from the lack of capital, lack of technology and deterioration of the soil. Although agriculture remains the backbone of the Ethiopian economy, production has been declining since the 1960s while the rate of population growth has been steadily rising. Thus Ethiopia, which could once feed itself, has been importing food on a large scale. The fall in agricultural …

Differential Adoption Of Technologies And Its Implications For Policy Choice Between Equity And Growth, Beyene Tadesse

International Conference on African Development Archives

Government policies often attempt to create simultaneous impact on economic efficiency and equity. The Ethiopian government optimistically has targeted to simultaneously achieve at improvement in agricultural efficiency (growth) and equitable distribution of the benefits by all farmers in the whole part of the country. However, many scholars most often argue that growth and equity are inversely related in most development processes. Thus, the main objective of the paper was to evaluate the interhousehold and interregional technology adoption pattern (implies both growth and equity). The conceptual relationship of growth and equity, and experiences in adoption studies were first assessed. Then three …