This study analyzed the factors affecting smallholder farmers decisions to adopt livelihood strategy choices and its impact on rural households' livelihood outcomes in the Meta district, Eastern Ethiopia during the 2016/17 production year. The data used for the study were obtained from 180 randomly selected sample households. Multinomial logit model was employed to analyze the determinants of farmers' decisions to adopt livelihood strategies. The average effect of adoption on households' farm incomes was estimated by using propensity score matching method. The result of the multinomial logistic regression showed that age of the household head, distance from irrigation sources, social status, soil fertility status, education level, distance from Developmental Agents (DAs) office, economical active members, soil fertility status, soil conservation and transportation services were significantly affects households' adoption decision. Impact evaluation results showed that about 12.9, 45.2 and 41.9 percents of the sample households who using crop farming only, crop + livestock farming, and crop + livestock + off/non-farming strategies were non poor, respectively. Similarly, about 9.4, 30 and 19.4 percents of the sample households who using crop farming only, crop + livestock farming and crop + livestock + off/non-farming strategies were food secured, in that order. The estimation results provides a supportive evidence of statistically significant effect of livelihood strategies on rural households livelihood outcomes measured by food security status and poverty status. Therefore, policy makers should give due emphasis to the aforementioned variables to reduce households level food insecurity status and improve the livelihood of rural households.

This study was aimed at examining gender diversified dairy farming and household level food security status and determinants of dairy cattle benefits in Haramaya district, Oromia, Ethiopia, using cross sectional data collected from randomly selected 120 sample households during year 2016 production season. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression models were employed for data analysis. Descriptive statistics stated that of the sample households, 71 households were found to be food secured whereas the remaining 49 household were food unsecured. Comparison of female headed and male headed dairy farming households indicated that 46.7 percent's of female headed and 12.5 percent's of male headed households were secured. The logistic regression result showed that female headed dairy farming participation was significantly influenced by education of household head, extension contact, cultivated land area, availability of supplementary feeds and access to market information. The impact estimation result showed that female headed have got increment in farm household's food security status nearly by 66% than male headed households. The regression estimated coefficients indicated that dairy cattle benefits is significantly influenced by; education, access to vaccination, extension service, market information, cultivated area, milk sold on farm and fodder supplement were significant variables which affect the dairy cattle income in the study area. Therefore, policy makers should give due emphasis to the aforementioned variables to increase dairy farming benefits and improve the livelihood of rural households.

Ethiopia’s sesame export earn percentage share in the total export had been rapid declining over the last decades while it was the second commodity in currency grossing of the country. The objective of this study was to examine the determinant factors of Ethiopia’s sesame exports performance, in the aspect of export trade, by the use of a more realistic model approach, a panel gravity model. It used short panel data that cover 11 countries of consistent Ethiopia’s sesame importers for the period of 13 years from 2002 to 2014. The panel unit root test of Levin-Lin-Chu was used for each variable and applied the first difference transformation for the variables that had a unit root. The random effect model results suggested that real gross domestic product of importing countries; Ethiopian real gross domestic product, real exchange rate and weighted distance were found to be the determinant factors of Ethiopia’s sesame exports performance. The estimated results revealed that as real gross domestic product of importing countries increase by 1%, the flows of Ethiopia’s sesame exports performance increase by 1.63%. Based on the finding results, the researcher recommends that the policy maker must adopt the policies that reduce the cost of shipping through improving the infrastructure for shipments sector and contract a free trade agreement with distant countries. The government should encourage the private sector to diversify their products and improving the quality of its products to increase the competitiveness the Ethiopian products in foreign markets.

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Climate impact mitigation through improved agricultural practices is one means by which agricultural productivity increases to meet the growing food demands in the world. This study evaluated the impacts of climate-smart Practices on rural households’ nutrition security. The study used both primary and secondary data sources. Primary data was collected from sample respondents in the 2020/21 production year. Descriptive statistics and econometric models were employed for data analysis. Multinomial logit result indicated that the probability of adopting climate-smart agricultural practices is influenced by the education level of the head, extension contact, livestock holding, membership coop, market information, advice on land management, climate change information, farmers training, climate change perception, and weather road distance. The result from GPS estimation indicated that treatment level two the number of climate-smart practices increases household nutritional status by16%. Likewise, treatment level three and four of the number of climate-smart practices increases the household level nutritional status by 37% and 76% respectively over that of treatment level one of the climate-smart practices and is significant at a 1% statistical probability level. This study has found evidence that the adoption of climate-smart on the households’ nutrition security status. Therefore, the result of this study would be expected to significantly contribute as policy and strategic inputs for policymakers in designing rural livelihood improvement policies and to the beneficiary in enhancing their welfare and living standard.