The aim of this paper is analyzing the impact of COVID-19 on the perishable products’ value chain in Ethiopia. As a methodology, both data sources and types: primary and secondary, qualitative and quantitative, were used to achieve the objective of the study under consideration. The primary data sources used in this work is mainly phone survey, expert opinions and judgments based on real situation observation, and that of secondary data were collected through review of materials published on lessons learned from previous pandemics by different reputable sources. Therefore, this work is based on systematically reviewing and retrieving secondary sources through Google search, library plus harvesting and word type searching. The findings of the study revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic cut the full functioning of the value and supply chain of perishable products due to social distance restrictions imposed by the government, fear of the disease, cutoff transportation and even lock-down of market centers. This led to price changes, gross domestic product loss, the start-up of agro-industrial parks was delayed, reduced export and more women become out of work due to their high participation in perishable products’ value chain. To mention, Ethiopia has lost about $25 million—almost 10% of annual revenue—just over $10 million within the horticultural sector and around 50,000 workers lose their jobs—mostly female labourers. Based on the results, the authors forwarded the collective engagement of the concerned bodies to reduce the negative impacts of COVID-19 on perishable products by using the possible mechanism.
Despite numerous efforts to introduce sustainable farm and environmental practices (SFEPs), such as pruning, soil erosion control, and water pollution abatement measures), their adoption by smallholder farmers is awfully low in Ethiopia. As a result, smallholder coffee farmers in the country remain in poverty traps even if there is room to enjoy coffee returns by doubling the yield by implementing sustainable practices. On the other hand, most previous coffee sustainability studies focus on the economic, livelihood, and poverty alleviation impact of private sustainability standard schemes. Despite the holistic advantages of the adoption of bundled SFEPs over individual adoption practices, it has been overlooked by earlier scholars in the country. In southwest Ethiopia, few farmers applied sustainable coffee farm practices (particularly pruning, stumping, the use of fertilizer, and mulching), and the yields gained by the farmers are quite low. Therefore, this study seeks to examine the factors affecting the adoption of bundled SFEPs and their intensity at the farm household level in southwest Ethiopia based on cross-sectional data obtained from 153 sampled coffee farm households for the 2019/2020 cropping season. The study results showed that the farmers’ adoption of different SFEPs depended on farm and management characteristics (total size of coffee holdings, multiple plots, remoteness of coffee farm, hired labor, and farming experience), socioeconomic variables (literacy, household size, and training), and Fairtrade coffee certification. Likewise, the intensity of SFEPs implementation is influenced by literacy and hired labor. Providing training and supplementing coffee farmers with farm equipment used for SFEPs, promoting small-scale mechanization options to address seasonal labor constraints, as well as strengthening Fairtrade organizations will facilitate the adoption of multiple SFEPs by coffee farmers in the country.
This article describes the role of traditional food commodities in transforming food security in the west part of Ethiopia. The study used both secondary and primary data to identify the types of traditional, indigenous, and cultural foods in the areas. The descriptive result revealed that Dinnicha Oromoo, Abbaa Coomaa, Qoccoo, Caccabsaa, Mushroom, Qoc-qocaa, Ancootee, and Goodarree were the indigenous food commodities found and widely consumed in west Oromia. Though these foods are cheap and low cost in the areas, they have not yet been well utilized due to low peoples’ perceptions towards these foods termed as ‘food for poor’ since they consider it as inferior goods. Moreover, lack of awareness, poor policies that recognize their contributions in improving food availability, and lack of promotion to promote traditional and indigenous foods are determinants in the area. The paper also describes the integration concept between modern technology and indigenous knowledge to rise food security status. Traditional and indigenous food systems once lost are hard to recreate, underlining the imperative for timely documentation, adaptations, compilation, and dissemination of diminishing knowledge of indigenous foods, biodiversity, and the use of food culture for promoting sustainable and secured diets. Therefore government, extensions, and all stakeholders should give high consideration to promote such foods and create awareness on their importance to solve food security problems in the study areas and Ethiopia at large. Let Ethiopia recovery come to tell new development.
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