Effect of cropland and livestock ownership on child labour in eastern Ethiopia: empirical examination of the Wealth Paradox

Shumetie, Arega; Mamo, Kassahun

doi:10.1186/s40723-019-0061-x

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…We used both species richness and cultivated area as response variables. Fixed effects comprised total harvested area (ha) and number of livestock, both serving as proxies for farmer affluence (Shumetie & Mamo, 2019). We also applied a proxy for regional accessibility, comprising travel time to the nearest town (extracted at 1 km resolution from Ethiogis 3; http://www.ethiogis-mapserver.org) and a poverty index.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indigenous crop diversity maintained despite the introduction of major global crops in an African centre of agrobiodiversity

Rampersad

Geto

Samuel

et al. 2023

Plants People Planet

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Societal Impact StatementThe global success and expansion of a small pool of major crops, including rice, wheat and maize, risks homogenising global agriculture. Focusing on the agriculturally diverse Ethiopian Highlands, this study tested whether farm diversity tends to be lower among farmers who grow more introduced crops. Surprisingly, it was found that farmers have successfully integrated introduced crops, resulting in more diverse and heterogenous farms without negatively impacting indigenous crop diversity. This is encouraging because diverse farms, comprising indigenous agricultural systems supplemented by introduced crops, may help address global challenges such as food insecurity.Summary The global expansion of a handful of major crops risks eroding indigenous crop diversity and homogenising agroecosystems, with significant consequences for sustainable and resilient food systems. Here, we investigate the farm‐scale impact of introduced crops on indigenous agroecosystems. We surveyed 1369 subsistence farms stratified across climate gradients in the Ethiopian Highlands, a hotspot of agrobiodiversity, to characterise the richness and cultivated area of the 83 edible crops they contained. We further categorise these crops as being indigenous to Ethiopia, or introduced across three different eras. We apply non‐metric multidimensional scaling and mixed effects modelling to characterise agroecosystem composition across farms with different proportions of introduced crops. Crops from different periods do not differ significantly in frequency or abundance across farms. Among geographically matched pairs of farms, those with higher proportions of modern introduced crops had significantly higher overall crop richness. Furthermore, farms with a high proportion of modern introduced crops showed higher heterogeneity in crop composition. An analysis of socio‐economic drivers indicated that poverty is negatively associated with the cultivated area of introduced crops. In our Ethiopian case study, global patterns of major crop expansion are not necessarily associated with agrobiodiversity loss at the farm scale or higher homogeneity across indigenous agricultural systems. Importantly, socioeconomic factors may influence farmers' propensity to adopt novel species, suggesting targets for agricultural extension policies. Given the rapid climatic, economic and demographic changes impacting global food systems and the threats to food security these entail, robust indigenous agricultural systems enriched with diverse introduced crops may help maintain resilience.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indigenous crop diversity maintained despite the introduction of major global crops in an African centre of agrobiodiversity

Rampersad

Geto

Samuel

et al. 2023

Plants People Planet

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“…Farmers used less farmyard manure than the recommended amount perhaps because of the low supply of organic matter. This is attributable to the low number of livestock units owned by farmers in the study area [51]. The low use of farmyard manure as fertilizer material by the farmers may also be attributed to competing uses of the material as the source of energy for cooking [52].…”

Section: Management Practices Of Farmyard Manure (Fym)mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…In decreasing order of severity, bulkiness for transport, limited availability, and poor knowledge about the importance of farmyard manure for maintaining and improving soil fertility were the most significant constraints that potato farmers faced (Table 5). The limited availability of farmyard manure may be due to the low number of livestock units owned by farmers in the study area [51]. The cost of transporting the fertilizer is high given its sheer bulk, and the application process is tedious.…”

Section: Constraints In the Use Of Fymmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil and Water Management Practices as a Strategy to Cope with Climate Change Effects in Smallholder Potato Production in the Eastern Highlands of Ethiopia

et al. 2021

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Low soil fertility and climate change-induced low soil moisture are major problems constraining potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) production in the eastern highlands of Ethiopia. Climate events are projected to become more pervasive. Therefore, research was conducted with the objective of analyzing smallholder potato farmers’ adaptation strategies to cope with the issues of low soil fertility and low soil moisture that are exacerbated by climate change. The research involved surveying eight purposively selected peasant associations in four major potato-producing districts in east and west Hararghe zones. The survey employed a multistage sampling procedure. Data were collected from 357 households using a standard questionnaire, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, index ranking, and analysis of variance for survey data. The observed climate data for the period of 1988 to 2017 were analyzed. The Mann-Kendall trend test, standard anomaly index, precipitation concentration index, and coefficient of variation were used to analyze the observed climate data. The survey results revealed the farmers, on average, applied 159 kg urea, 165 kg NPS (63 kg P2O5, 31 kg N and 12 kg S), and 1.8 ton of farmyard manure per hectare for producing potatoes. Most smallholder farmers (68.91%) used supplemental irrigation for potato production during the main growing season. The method of irrigation the farmers used was overwhelmingly the furrow method (92.72%). Analyzing the climate data showed that the mean annual temperature increased whereas the mean annual rainfall decreased during the 30-year period. It was concluded that climate change is markedly affecting potato production; in response to this, most of the farmers used supplemental irrigation to cope with moisture stress, all of them applied mineral fertilizers, and some of them additionally applied organic fertilizer to alleviate the problems of soil degradation and nutrient depletion. This implies that soil moisture and nutrient stresses are the major problems constraining potato production against which the farmers need policy and institutional supports to consolidate their coping strategies and build resilience against climate change.

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“…This could be because livestock requires more attention for care and feeding to ensure that they have the food and water. This may result in household members devoting most of their time to rearing animals, thereby trading off off-farm work (Shumetie and Mamo 2019). Moreover, such a scenario is most likely if the livestock is associated with more income-generating opportunities than alternative off-farm work participation, everything else held constant.…”

Section: Determinants Of Participation In Off-farm Work Activitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disaggregated impacts of off-farm work participation on household vulnerability to food poverty in Ghana

Addai

Ng’ombe

2022

J Econ Inequal

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This study examines disaggregated impacts of participation in off-farm employment on household vulnerability to food poverty in Ghana. We use household-level data collected from smallholder farmers in Ghana. This study employs the multinomial endogenous switching regression model to account for selection bias due to both observed and unobserved heterogeneity. Our results indicate that participation in off-farm employment activities, such as petty trading, significantly decreases household vulnerability to food poverty. Our findings further show that households that do participate in arts and crafts as an off-farm activity are more vulnerable to food poverty had they not participated. This paper provides useful policy insights to enable smallholders involved in off-farm work activities to improve food consumption expenditure and reduce their risk of food poverty.

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Effect of cropland and livestock ownership on child labour in eastern Ethiopia: empirical examination of the Wealth Paradox

Cited by 9 publications

References 15 publications

Indigenous crop diversity maintained despite the introduction of major global crops in an African centre of agrobiodiversity

Indigenous crop diversity maintained despite the introduction of major global crops in an African centre of agrobiodiversity

Soil and Water Management Practices as a Strategy to Cope with Climate Change Effects in Smallholder Potato Production in the Eastern Highlands of Ethiopia

Disaggregated impacts of off-farm work participation on household vulnerability to food poverty in Ghana

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