Suchergebnisse

The increasing problem of landlessness in Ethiopia has put pressure on regional governments to redistribute land. In 1997 and 1998, a major land redistribution exercise was undertaken in the Amhara region, reducing landlessness where implemented. While the impacts of such redistributions have been hotly debated, little empirical evidence exists concerning the actual impacts of redistribution. We find that land redistribution in Amhara region has had a positive impact on land productivity, by increasing access to land of farmers who are more interested or able to use purchased inputs such as fertiliser and herbicides. Our results, however, do not show much effect of the recent land redistribution or expectations of future redistribution on land improvement and management. Thus, to the extent that investment in land improvement are necessary for conservation purposes, it appears that policy change to stop land redistributions is unlikely to have a substantial impact on reducing land degradation. Credit and extension programs and improving land rental markets, however, present better strategies for improving land management in this region of Ethiopia.

Reducing resource degradation, increasing agricultural productivity, and reducing poverty and food insecurity are major challenges in Ethiopia, where nearly 90% of people live in rtual areas and depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Since 1991, the federal and regional governments have focused on promoting conservation of natural resources and improving of agricultural productivity and welfare through a broad program of investment in infrastructure (roads, irrigation, etc.), agricultural extension and credit, education, and other services. Empirical evidence is needed of the impacts of these policies and prodams. Using data from the highlands of Amhara region, this paper addresses the information gap. We find that the agricultural extension program and production of high-value crops have had substantial positive impacts on crop production and household incomes, and have contributed to improved land management and adoption of external inputs. Thus, continuing and expanding the extension approach appears well justified, and promoting production of high-value crops can help households escape the poverty trap. However, a key factor underlying these improvements is road Development (i.e., better access to all-weather roads and markets). Population pressure was associated with lower crop production and incomes, as well as worsening of most resource and welfare conditions. Thus, family planning, education and other means of reducing population growth, as well as developing the non-farm sector, will be crucial in relieving the pressure on the land and raising incomes.

Land degradation is a severe problem in the Ethiopian highlands. Factors that may be important in influencing land management and its impacts on resources and human welfare include low and uncertain rainfall in much of the highlands, limited market access and market development, land tenure insecurity, credit constraints, farmers' limited education or limited awareness of technological opportunities, poverty, and government policies and programs affecting these factors. Evidence on the impacts of such factors and possible strategies for overcoming land degradation and poverty in the Ethiopian highlands is still sparse. There are recent studies that did not consider most of the socioeconomic and policy factors mentioned above. This study addresses these issues using data on changes in land management and resource and poverty indicators collected in a large number of villages in the Ethiopian highlands. It investigates the impacts of policy factors such as land tenure policies, the presence of various programs and investments in infrastructure, as well as impacts of population pressure and control of omitted variable bias caused by unobservable fixed factors.

An in-depth quantitative analysis is undertaken in this paper to assist the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat, member countries, and development partners in setting future regional investment priorities for agricultural research and development in the SADC region. A primary goal of this work was to identify a range of agricultural research priorities for achieving sector productivity and overall economic growth in southern Africa, at both the country and regional levels. This is accomplished by adopting an integrated modeling framework that combines a disaggregated spatial analytical model with an economywide multimarket model developed specifically for the region. The spatial disaggregation uses information on current yield gaps to project growth and technology spillovers across countries among different agricultural activities that share similar conditions and thus potential for adoption and diffusion in the region. The economywide multimarket model is used to simulate ex ante the economic effects of closing these yield gaps through a country's own investments in research and development (R&D) and from potential R&D spill-ins from neighboring countries. Results indicate a high potential of spillovers and technology adaptability across countries due to similar agroecological and climatic conditions and the countries' own capacities for adaptive R&D. The greatest agriculture-led growth opportunities reside in staple crops and in roots and tubers, especially among the low-income countries. Together, these sectors have the potential to contribute up to 40 percent of future possible growth. There are differences (areas of comparative advantage) at the country level that offer opportunities for specialization. For example, grains are the dominant subsector for Zimbabwe; in Botswana, opportunities will depend on more growth in its livestock sector; and for Namibia promoting fish growth may be more important. The root crops sector is as important as that of grains in Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Malawi, but even more important in Mozambique. The study finds evidence of high spillover potential, especially for maize, rice, cattle, cassava, sorghum, and beans. Low-income countries gain the most from spill-in of R&D in the grains and roots subsectors; yield growth in these subsectors explains about 20 percent of these countries' gains in the total value of production, compared with only 2.2 percent among middle-income countries. Our results emphasize not only the importance of expanding regional cooperation in R&D and technology diffusion in southern Africa, but the importance of strengthening regional agricultural markets and linkages with nonagricultural sectors.