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Diversifying the sources of livelihood for subsistence farmers beyond agriculture plays a significant role in reducing poverty as well as withstanding the adverse impacts of climate change. A crosssectional survey research design has been employed to examine the factors which determine the participation of rainfed-dependent smallholder farmers in non-farm activities using a mixed methods approach. Data were obtained from 384 randomly selected households in the Woleka sub-basin of Ethiopia. Data were collected using survey questionnaires and interviews were analyzed using mean, percentage, chi-square test, t-test, one-way ANOVA, binary logistic regression model and thematic analysis. Access to adequate capital, poor infrastructure and lack of training are the major constraints which hindered farmers from undertaking non-farm activities. The regression model result revealed that several factors determine the propensity of smallholder farmers' participation to non-farm activities. Better-off households, households led by literate and younger heads, having access to microfinance, having extension services, and having social responsibilities create engagement in non-farm economic activities. We argue that strengthening agricultural extension services, providing microfinance, entrepreneurial training and skill development, and infrastructure development would enhance the participation of smallholder farmers in non-farm activities. To achieve this, policy makers and other stakeholders need to integrate non-farm livelihood strategies into rural farming economies.

Background Due to its climate-sensitive agricultural system and low adaptive capacity of the subsistence farmers, Ethiopia is cited among the countries experiencing frequent drought and highly vulnerable to climate change associated impacts. Micro level vulnerability assessment, in the context of a changing climate, has a paramount significance in designing policies addressing climate change induced effects. Assessing vulnerability to climate change is important for defining the risks posed by the change and it provides a starting point for the determination of effective means of promoting remedial actions to minimize impacts by supporting coping strategies and facilitating adaptation options targeted at specific context. Methods We employed cross-sectional survey research design has to examine the extent of livelihood vulnerability of 384 randomly selected smallholder farmers from three agroecologies which was supplemented by interviews. Livelihood vulnerability index, using integrated indicator approaches and principal component analysis, has been used. Chi-square test, F-test and t-test were used to examine association and mean differences among three agroecologies and between cropping types in terms of different attributes. Findings Overall, smallholder farmers living in kolla agroecology were found to be the most vulnerable to climate change induced hazards followed by dega. In terms of type of cropping season, belg dominated areas were relatively more vulnerable than those residing in meher dominated areas. Different biophysical and socio-economic attributes contributed their own role both for exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity differences among smallholder farmers farming in different agroecologies and different types of cropping seasons. Conclusion We recommend that interventions undertaken to lessen the impact of climate change should be targeted to the factors which contribute to high extent of sensitivity and for those which could enhance the adaptive capacity of smallholder farmers. Specifically, we suggest that resilience-building adaptation interventions like expansion of small-scale irrigation, accessing of microfinance service, early warning and timely information, extension support, non-farm sources of income, training and skill development, expansion of infrastructure have to be promoted thereby increase the adaptive capacity of subsistence rainfed-dependent farmers to withstand the vagaries of the climate variability risk. Moreover, disparities in the same agroecology have to be addressed properly in livelihood vulnerability discourse.

Abstract. Evaluation of land use/land cover changes and land degradation in Dera District, Ethiopia were undertaken using two remotely sensed datasets (Landsat 5 TM of 1985 and Landsat 7 ETM + imagery 2011). Land use/land cover change detection and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index analysis was carried out on the two images. Global positioning system and topographical maps of scale 1:50,000 for ground verification and ERDAS Imagine 9.1 and ArcGIS 9.2 software for satellite image processing and analysis were used for the study. Field observations and focus group discussions were also conducted to obtain addition information. The result of this study showed that cultivated and degraded lands were increased by 25.79% and 398% respectively at the expense of forest, shrub and grazing lands. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index analysis has also indicated the increased of land degradation between 1985 and 2011 images which mainly aggravated by land use/land cover changes.

Smallholder rainfed agriculture, which is the mainstay of rural communities in Ethiopia, is negatively affected by climate change. Understanding the adaptations being practiced and factors which determine decision in adoption is vital in designing viable strategies. A cross-sectional survey research design was employed to collect data from 384 randomly selected smallholder farmers to identify adaptation measures being undertaken and to estimate the prominent determinants in the adoption of adaptations in drought-prone areas of north-central Ethiopia. Data were analyzed using percentage, weighted mean index, Chi-square test, t test and multinomial regression model and triangulated with thematic analysis. Around 96% of the respondents have perceived a change in climate and 65.4% employed adaptation measures. Stone/soil bund, changing the farming calendar and switching to short maturing varieties are the most widely practiced adaptations. Barriers inhibiting smallholder farmers from taking adaptation measures were financial constraint, lack of affordable technologies, lack of knowledge, limited access to early warning, uncertainty about the future, shortage of land and scarcity of water. The results from the multinomial discrete choice model revealed that age and educational level of the head, family

Mapping and quantifying urban landscape dynamics and the underlying driving factors are crucial for devising appropriate policies, especially in cities of developing countries where the change is rapid. This study analyzed three decades (1984-2014) of land use land cover change of Addis Ababa using Landsat imagery and examined the underlying factors and their temporal dynamics through expert interview using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Classification results revealed that urban area increased by 50%, while agricultural land and forest decreased by 34 and 16%, respectively. The driving factors operated differently during the pre and post-1991 period. The year 1991 was chosen because it marked government change in the country resulting in policy change. Policy had the highest influence during the pre-1991 period. Land use change in this period was associated with the housing sector as policies and institutional setups were permissive to this sector. Population growth and in-migration were also important factors. Economic factors played significant role in the post-1991 period. The fact that urban land has a market value, the growth of private investment, and the speculated property market were among the economic factors. Policy reforms since 2003 were also influential to the change. Others such as accessibility, demography, and neighborhood factors were a response to economic factors. All the above-mentioned factors had vital role in shaping the urban pattern of the city. These findings can help planners and policymakers to better understand the dynamic relationship of urban land use and the driving factors to better manage the city.