The Road to Democratic Development Statehood in Africa

The Road to Democratic Development Statehood in Africa
Author: Marcel Felicity Nagar
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2021-09-27
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 3030735230

This book interrogates Africa’s pursuit of the Democratic Developmental State model by drawing on the experiences of Mauritius, Ethiopia, and Rwanda. It comprises of five parts: Part I, consisting of two chapters, outlines the key conceptual and theoretical approaches used throughout the book’s discussions. The proceeding parts II, III and IV critically analyses the three case studies under review. Each part is subdivided into two chapters wherein a historical state-societal approach is employed in interrogating the extent to which Mauritius, Ethiopia, and Rwanda have been able to successfully achieve democratic development, on the one hand, and, conversely, inclusive economic growth and development, on the other. Part V, and Chapter 10 debuts the concept and model of the Developmental Civil Society.

The economics of teff: Exploring Ethiopia’s biggest cash crop

The economics of teff: Exploring Ethiopia’s biggest cash crop
Author: Minten, Bart
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Total Pages: 448
Release: 2018-07-19
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0896292835

Considerable poverty and food insecurity in Ethiopia, combined with the overwhelming majority of Ethiopians who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, make agricultural transformation a crucial development goal for the country. One promising improvement is to increase production of teff, the calorie- and nutrient-rich but low-yielding staple. The Economics of Teff: Exploring Ethiopia’s Biggest Cash Crop examines key aspects of teff production, marketing, and consumption, with a focus on opportunities for and challenges to further growth. The authors identify ways to realize teff’s potential, including improving productivity and resilience, selecting and scaling up new technologies, establishing distribution systems adapted to different areas’ needs, managing labor demand and postharvest operations, and increasing access to larger and more diverse markets. The book’s analysis and policy conclusions should be useful to policy makers, researchers, and others concerned with Ethiopia’s economic development.

Accelerating technical change through video-mediated agricultural extension: Evidence from Ethiopia

Accelerating technical change through video-mediated agricultural extension: Evidence from Ethiopia
Author: Abate, Gashaw T.
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Total Pages: 74
Release:
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

Despite a rapidly growing enthusiasm around applications of information and communications technologies (ICTs) to smallholder agriculture in developing countries, there are still many questions on the effectiveness of ICT-based approaches. This study assesses the effects of videomediated agricultural extension service provision on farmers’ knowledge and adoption of improved agricultural technologies and practices in Ethiopia. The study focuses on a program piloted by the Government of Ethiopia and Digital Green and poses three questions. First, to what extent does video-mediated extension lead to increased uptake of improved agricultural technologies and practices by smallholder farmers? Second, is video-mediated extension targeted at both spouses of the household more effective than when only targeted at the (typically male) household head? Third, how cost-effective is a video-mediated approach to extension provision? The study explores these questions with a randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate the video-mediated approach as applied to three priority crops (teff, wheat, maize) and three technologies (row planting, precise seeding rates, and urea dressing). The trial was implemented in 347 kebeles (village clusters) during the 2017 meher (rainy) season in Ethiopia’s four most agriculturally important regional states. Analysis of data from our surveys of 2,422 households and 896 extension agents indicates that the video-mediated approach is more effective than the conventional approach in achieving several key outcomes. Specifically, we find that videomediated extension reaches a wider audience than the conventional approach and leads to higher levels of agricultural knowledge and uptake of technologies in those kebeles randomly assigned to the program. While our results do point to greater participation and greater knowledge of female spouses in kebeles where both male and female spouses were targeted by the program, we do not find clear evidence that the more inclusive approach translated into higher uptake of the subject technologies and practices. Finally, we find that the video-mediated approach becomes less costly as the scale of operation increases.

Cash crops and food security

Cash crops and food security
Author: Kuma, Tadesse
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Total Pages: 22
Release: 2016-09-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

One of the key questions in food policy debates in the last decades has been the role of cash cropping for achieving food security in low income countries. We revisit this question in the context of smallholder coffee production in Ethiopia. Using unique data collected by the authors on about 1,600 coffee farmers in the country, we find that coffee income improves food security, even after controlling for total income and other factors and after addressing the endogeneity of coffee income. Further analysis suggests that the pathway for achieving this improved food security is linked to being better able to smooth consumption across agricultural seasons. In contrast with food crops, coffee sales take place almost throughout the whole year, providing farmers with cash income also during the lean season.

Cooperation for competition

Cooperation for competition
Author: Gian Nicola Francesconi
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2023-08-28
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9086866549

Throughout history, rural smallholders have formed various forms of associations to confront access-barriers to the market. It is estimated that 250 million farmers participate in agricultural cooperatives in developing countries. Agricultural cooperatives are considered to be a fundamental pillar of rural development strategies, as well as a core institution in the process of governance decentralization and agri-business development. In Ethiopia, where agro-ecological conditions are generally favourable, 85 percent of the national population lives in rural areas under subsistence or semi-subsistence regimes. Agricultural cooperatives are advocated by the government as key market institutions to exploit Ethiopia's agricultural growth potential. The scope of this study is to improve the understanding of the role played by cooperative organizations in linking Ethiopian smallholder farmers to emerging markets. Through exploring the evolution of supermarkets, integrated supply chains, and global commodity exchange networks, this study sheds light on the relationship between rural cooperation and farmers' competitiveness. Quantitative data that form the basis for this study were collected from the Highland regions of Ethiopia, in the period between 2003 and 2006. Findings suggest that cooperatives are not a panacea to boost rural competitiveness. Collective action assists smallholders in procuring state subsidy for production, but does not necessarily lead to increased commercialization. Only when collective action involves collective marketing do farmers become more commercial, further improving production volumes and productivity. However, in the process of commercialization and production intensification quality management is often neglected in Ethiopian agricultural cooperatives. This study reveals guidelines for public-private partnerships so that cooperative farmers can maximize commercialization and optimize the balance between quality and productivity.