Meselu Tegenie Mellaku

This study examines how different land use systems are associated with resilience to drought‐induced food insecurity in Ethiopia using a comparative case study of three districts representing monocropping (Bale), agroforestry (Sidama), and woodlot‐based systems (Awi). The analysis integrates crop damage data from the Central Statistical Agency (CSA) with food aid priority classifications and postdrought food security outcomes from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) and food aid priority area map from World Food Program (WFP), Inter‐Agency Humanitarian Evaluation (IAHE) and United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Results show marked differences in drought impacts across systems. During the 2015–2016 drought, Bale (monocropping) experienced the highest crop losses (54,354 ha; 0.29 ha per affected person), followed by Sidama (agroforestry) (6629 ha; 0.19 ha per person) and Awi (woodlot) (3802 ha; 0.02 ha per person). Normalized against projected 2016 zone populations, Bale also records the highest area loss per 1000 inhabitants (30.8 ha, vs. 3.1 in Awi and 1.8 in Sidama), although the share of the zone population reporting crop damage was highest in Awi (15.4%). Postdrought IPC classifications further indicate higher food insecurity in Bale, where 60% of the population was classified in Phase 2 or above, compared with 30% in Sidama, whereas Awi did not meet the threshold for IPC classification. These patterns suggest that, within the studied contexts, diversified land use systems particularly agroforestry‐ and woodlot‐based practices are associated with lower exposure to drought impacts and reduced food insecurity. However, these relationships are context‐specific and reflect the combined influence of land use systems and broader agroecological and socioeconomic conditions. In particular, mean annual rainfall differs more than twofold across the study districts, and the woodlot district is also the wettest, so baseline moisture availability cannot be separated from land use configuration as an explanation of the observed differences. The findings are therefore indicative rather than causal, but they highlight the potential role of land use diversification as part of strategies to enhance resilience to climate variability.

There has to date been limited research on the economic valuation of local outdoor recreational services to inform policy and practice. This study attempts to fill this gap by estimating the annual recreational value of Tabor Mountain Recreational Park, an open-access recreational site in Hawassa City (also known as Awassa City), Ethiopia. This study employs single-bounded dichotomous choice and open-ended elicitation methods using primary and secondary data collected from 260 urban residents during June–August 2019. A complementary assessment of the determinants of local visitors’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) is also carried out. Descriptive statistics and a binary logistic regression model were used to analyze the survey data. Overall, 87% and 98% of the respondents were willing to accept the initial bid value and to give non-zero maximum WTP, respectively. On average, a local resident makes/intends to make 2.57 visits per month paying a mean entrance fee of ETB 28.33 per visit, which represents approximately ETB 93,498,000 per year. Furthermore, average monthly income and the afternoon visiting-time preference of local visitors had a positive effect on individuals’ WTP. Initial bid value, frequency of visits per month, number of dependent families, and age of local visitors had a negative effect on WTP. The substantial annual local recreational value estimate of Tabor Mountain Park reveals the potential of local financing alternatives for sustainable development and management of environmental resources in similar settings.

Smallholder farmer crop production is a mainstay of the Ethiopian economy. A series of agricultural extension programs have been implemented since the 1950s in an effort to improve smallholder productivity. In this study, we argue that the limited attention that is given to cropland allocation by smallholders is one key driver of low performance of crop production as well as a key factor in environmental degradation. Drawing on data from a household survey of 75 randomly selected households in Abaro Kebele, Ethiopia, combined with focus-group discussions, key informant interviews, and secondary data sources, we use linear programming to highlight the impact of cropland allocation decisions on the performance of rural smallholder crop production systems. We find that under current land use practices households are not able to meet their consumption needs. The average profitability of farms under the current cropland allocation is also significantly below the estimated level of profit that could be realized by reallocating cropland while using linear programming. Additionally, survey results suggest that low crop production performance (in terms of meeting both household food crop production needs and profit goals) is the primary reason why households do not participate in conservation efforts and sustainable resource management practices. This study suggests that linear programming-based cropland allocation modeling might be applied to enhance the profit performance of smallholder crop production, help meet household food crop production requirements, and thereby promote the sustainable utilization of environmental resources.

Crop production is a major livelihood activity of smallholders in Ethiopia. However, it is often characterized by low performance. In an effort to improve crop production, a series of agricultural extension programs have been running in Ethiopia since the 1950s. Nevertheless, the performance of agriculture is still low. In this study, it is argued that the limited attention given to cropland allocation methodologies is one of the major causes of low performance of crop production and increased environmental degradation. This study used linear programming to examine the role and impacts of cropland allocation methods on performance of crop production. The data for this study was drawn from household survey of 75 randomly selected households combined with focus-grouped discussion, key informant interview, and secondary data. In the current conventional cropland allocation, households were not able to meet their household consumption. The average profitability of farms under current practice was found significantly below than estimated optimal level of profit that could be realized using linear programming. In addition, it uncovered that low performance of crop production (in terms of meeting household consumption demand and profitability) is the primary cause that limited the effort of households to participate in environmental and natural resource management. This study suggests the use of linear programming-based cropland allocation to enhance the profit performance of smallholder crop production, meeting household consumption requirement, and thereby promote sustainable utilization of natural and environmental resources.