Many studies evaluating the impact of adoption on welfare focused on adoption of a single technology giving little attention on the complementarity/substitutability among agricultural technologies. Yet, smallholders commonly adopt several complementary technologies at a time and their adoption decision is best characterized by multivariate models. This paper, therefore, examines the impact of multiple complementary technologies adoption on consumption, poverty and vulnerability of smallholders in Ethiopia. The study used a balanced panel data obtained from a survey of 390 farm households collected in 2012, 2014 and 2016. A two stage multinomial endogenous switching regression model combined with the Mundlak approach and balanced panel data is employed to account for unobserved heterogeneity for the adoption decision and differences in household and farm characteristics. An ordered probit model is used to analyze the impact on poverty and vulnerability. We find that the adoption of improved technologies increases consumption expenditure significantly and the greatest impact is attained when farmers combine multiple complementary technologies. Similarly, the likelihood of households to remain poor or vulnerable decreased with the adoption of different complementary technologies. We therefore conclude that the adoption of multiple complementary technologies has substantial dynamic benefits that improve the welfare of smallholders in the study area, and given the observed low level of adoption rates, we suggest that much more intervention is warranted, with a special focus on poorer and vulnerable households, to ensure smallholders get support to improve their input use.

Despite the recent efforts to increase agricultural productivity in Ethiopia, food insecurity remains a major challenge in the country. Improving smallholders´ productivity requires the adoption of suitable agricultural technologies and practices. Previous researches highlighted the importance of socio-economic factors; but widely overlooked the role of social capital in technology adoption and its potential to create collective actions, reduce transaction costs, relax supply side constraints, and disseminate information. Using socio-economic data of 398 farming households, the study assessed social capital as a determinant for soil and water conservation practices (SWC) such as terraces, bunds and agro-forestry as well as adopting productivity enhancing technologies (PET) such as fertilizers and improved high yielding seed varieties applying a probit model. The result showed that members of Iddir (informal funeral group) were more likely to adopt SWC (18.2%). For the case of PET, Iddir members were 12.8% less likely to adopt. Being members of Jarsumma (informal conflict resolution) increased the likelihood of SWC and PET adoption by 12.87% and 17.8%, respectively. Therefore, technology transfer should consider different types of social capital as an alternative policy option to the prevailing top down approaches in order to improve smallholder livelihoods.

Despite the wide range of literature supporting the linkages between women's empowerment and food security, it is not examined in social contexts where females historically enjoy equality and even favoritism, for instance where there is female succession and/or polyandry. This study was done in the Kingdom of Bhutan where matrilineal succession and polyandry were prevalent during the twentieth century. Both quantitative and qualitative survey methods were employed with the objectives of (i) investigating women's participation in crucial domestic decision-making processes and (ii) identifying the implications of female involvement in domestic decision-making on household-level dietary quality. While descriptive analyses and qualitative interviews revealed that women do not lack significant participation in domestic decision-making, the estimations indicate that the relationship between women's participation in decision-making and dietary diversity is non-linear. Further analyses indicate a positive association between (perfect) gender equal decision-making regarding household livelihoods and household-level dietary quality.

Bamboo is one of the more important natural resources in Ethiopia and contributes to the bioeconomy as a potential source for high-value products. While the country is the largest producer of bamboo in Africa, the existing utilization of the bamboo sector in Ethiopia remains under-developed, with little value addition. This study identifies the current market challenges and opportunities for future developments of the northern Ethiopian bamboo sector, with a focus on the Injibara township. This research adopts the “value web” approach to assess the potentials of different product lines that create the bamboo biomass value web. We utilize qualitative data collection methods, in particular, semi-structured interviews and informal focus group discussions with key stakeholders. Our findings suggest that bamboo farmers in Injibara are constrained by a lack of local demand and market for bamboo products with high-value addition, leading to an absence of product diversification and innovation. Furthermore, there is an overreliance on foreign technology and methods that are poorly matched for local needs. We recommend that policymakers invest in targeted and effective training strategies on bamboo cultivation and processing. Furthermore, farmers can benefit from decreasing their reliance on middle men with cooperatives or contract arrangements.

An essential part in the concept of any emerging bioeconomy includes the sustainable use of biomass as a resource for industrial raw materials. Focusing on the increasing demand for natural fibers, it will be necessary to identify alternative sources without compromising food security. Here, untapped potential lies in the use of plantain residues. Yet, it is unclear how or whether this can be activated. This article investigates the current situation in Ghana as a major plantain producer in Africa. Based on data collected with participatory tools, expert interviews, and group discussions, we (i) assess predominant plantain production structures, (ii) derive a stakeholder network map identifying institutional challenges, and (iii) discuss the potential starting points for linking the supply side with the national or international fiber market. Results indicate that there is substantial interest of private enterprises for high quality fibers. Despite traditional knowledge, after fruit harvest the fiber rich plantain pseudostems usually remain in the field. From an institutional point of view, key stakeholders and structures exist that could boost the establishment of a sustainable plantain based fiber value web. Key to such an endeavor, however, would be to pilot activities, including technology transfer of suitable innovations from other countries.

We evaluate the implications of women’s participation in domestic decision-making on diets and investments in human resources in Ethiopian rural households. We create a metric to capture intra-household decision-making, which we use to estimate a positive association between women’s participation in decision-making and household-level dietary diversity. Moreover, we find that an increase in women’s participation in intra-household decision-making is associated with higher financial investments in human resources.

In Maasai culture, responsibilities are traditionally divided between genders. Men are in charge of grazing and managing the livestock herds. Women take care of the family, administer food supplies, and are responsible for milking. For them, balancing home consumption of milk (for the family and for the calves), milk sale, and food purchase is a major task. In this article, we first investigate how different milk sales groups vary regarding the use of different food items and the respective quantities consumed by the enkaji, i.e., a Maasai subhousehold. Then, we address the commercialization decision and assess the effect of milk sales on the enkaji's food item use and food consumption. Using the data of Maasai enkajijik in the milk catchment area of a milk collection center in Ngerengere, Tanzania, we estimate the effects by employing propensity score matching procedures. Our findings suggest that milk sellers, especially those selling to the milk collection center, have a more diverse diet. In terms of per person consumption, the groups are markedly similar. Therefore, we conclude that income generated by milk sales is invested in diet diversification rather than in increasing the quantity of food consumed, hence the enkajijik appear not to make use of caloric terms of trade.JEL classifications: J16, Q12, Q13

Considering that rural poor are mostly subsistence farmers, it seems plausible that production diversity could lead to better nutrition for these farmers. The association between production and dietary diversity is complex, and this complexity demands rigorous empirical analyses and more attention to gendered aspects of intra-household decision-making. We employ panel data analyses of 363 Ethiopian smallholders surveyed in 2014 and 2016 to test for this phenomenon, and to explore the association of women's participation in decision-making with both production and consumption diversity. Results show that, diversification can be a strategy to improve the diets, but only of rural poor who have limited non-farm income, who are distant to the markets and mostly subsistence oriented. Moreover, female participation in decision-making associates with higher diversity both in terms of production and consumption, but it does not modify the magnitude of the association between production and dietary diversity. Our analyses contribute to the enriching literature on the linkage between production diversification and dietary diversity. We study this complex relationship in-depth and show that the gendered aspect of intra-household decision-making is an important covariate for both production diversity and dietary quality.