Browsing by Author "Aregachew, Aleka"

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    Contribution of Productive Safety Net Programme on Household Food Security: Case of Graduates in Adami Tullu Jido Kombolcha Woreda of Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia
    (Addis Ababa University, 2011-07) Aregachew, Aleka; Woldemariam, Tadesse (PhD)
    This paper attempts to evaluate the contribution of Ethiopia's Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) on household food security in general and the graduation process in particular. The PSNP operates as a safety net, targeting transfers to poor households in two ways, through public works (P If) and direct support (DS). The program is to provide food insecure people public work for five days a month pays 10 birr/day for their labor on laborintensive projects designed to build community assets during the agricultural slack season and thereby enable households to smooth consumption and prevent them from selling productive assets to overcome food shortages. The public work is also intended to create valuable public goods, and reduce seasonal liquidity constraints and thereby stimulate investments. Direct support, in the form of cash transfers, is provided to labor-scarce households, including those whose primary income earners are elderly or disabled in order to maintain the safety net for the poorest households who cannot participate in public works. Primary data was collected ji-om 43c1ients of PSNP and 30 graduated households selected randomly ji-om three kebeles namely DodiC/w, Warja Washgula and Bochessa ji-om Adami Tulu Jido Kombolcha woreda ofOromia National Regional State. Thirty two non-beneficiary households were selected purposively only from Dodicha kebele. The sustainable livelihood ji-amework was adopted to identify the outcome of the program and food insecurity as disaster model is applied as theOlY to identify whether disaster was the cause of food insecurity or not. Household food insecurity access scale was used as a tool to measure the status of household food security. The study revealed that the PSNP is already having an impact, that several important changes have taken place in terms of smoothening consumption, asset protection, asset building. Households graduate ji-om the PSNP when they are able to fill the food gap they had prior to their ently to the program and have additional resources to protect themselves frmn the modest shocks. The subjective assessment of the households' perception on food self sufficiency are not uniform throughout households. The concept of modest shock was not fitlly defined in the graduation guide note. Unless the definition is agreed or explicitly stated it is difJicult to establish what level of resource equates to food sufficiency and graduation in general. The study identified that PSNP is showing positive trends to hit its objectives. However, PSNP on its own may not allow large numbers to graduate from food insecurity, unless it is combined with the other food security programs, and especially the extension packages, loans. The restructuring of Orol1lia's Food Security Office institutional ji-amework arrangement several times in mandate, structure, and scope in the recent years and rapid turnover of staff at Woreda level are big challenges which seeks immediate solution for the effective implementation of the program. in ATJK Woreda vast majority of rural households are heavily reliant on rain-fed agriculture and, hence any irregularity in weather conditions has adverse welfare implications. The result suggests that, agricultural performance must improve if the food security of the majority of ATJK's Woredafarming households is to be enhanced. But more attelltion must be given to stabilizing yields, disseminating drought-resistant varieties to farmers in this drought prone woreda, rather than high-yielding but riskier varieties and access to inputs must be provided on time and more reasonable terms.