Status and Determinants of Rural Households Livelihoods, Poverty, and Access to Agricultural Extension Services in Jimma Geneti Woreda, Ethiopia
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2021-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The general objective of this study was to analyze the status and determinants of rural households‟
livelihoods, poverty, and access to agricultural extension services in Jimma Geneti woreda, Ethiopia. A
mixed-research design was employed. The subjects of the study were 387 surveys and 90 qualitative study
participants. Multi-stage sampling techniques were used to include samples in this study. Both primary
and secondary data sources were used to collect and establish the dataset of this study. Survey
questionnaires, in-depth interviews, non-participatory observation, and focus group discussion tools were
used to collect primary data. To analyze the data, both quantitative and qualitative data analysis
techniques were employed. Both the specific and general livelihood indices of the study area show a
low/depleted state of livelihood sources. Enhancing rural households‟ information, financial, social,
natural, physical, and human capital should not be circumvented. The extent of sample heads‟ livelihood
diversification (measured by Simpson Index Diversity) was found low (0.27). That is, sample heads of the
study area remained in low-return non-farm livelihood activities only (61.26%). Having a relative risk
ratio (greater than 50%), multinomial regression analysis shows that households‟ place of residence, sex,
education, marital status, and membership in cooperatives are found significant determinants of rural
livelihood‟s choice of livelihood strategies at a 5% significant level. Hence, encouraging rural
households to engage in remunerative livelihood strategies (non-farm, off-farm, and/or a combination of
activities) requires action-oriented policies. Furthermore, the composite multidimensional livelihood
security of samples was found 2.406. Ordered Logit model results show rural heads' Sex, Marital Status,
member of cooperatives, Age, F_size, Dependency Ratio, and landholding significantly impacted their
state of multidimensional livelihood security. Hence, wider considerations of rural households‟
multidimensional livelihood security analysis should be in place than narrow analysis of food and/or
nutritional security alone. Results of descriptive statistics show that sample heads‟ state of
multidimensional poverty was found higher (53.1%) than other developing countries like Indonesia,
Sierra Leone, and Nigeria but less than the national average. Results of the ordered logistic regression
analysis revealed that kebele, marital status, literacy status, landholding, and membership in
cooperatives of the household heads were among the determinants. Hence, policies and programs aiming
to reduce rural heads‟ multidimensional poverty in the most deprived multidimensional poverty index
indicators like school attendance and years of schooling should be a priority area. Attentions to
decompose rural poverty into different categories enable planners to comprehensively understand it and
reduce rural poverty. Alongside multidimensional poverty analysis, the involvement of the poor in poverty
analysis shouldn‟t be overlooked. Sample heads access to agricultural extension services was found low.
Weak links between agricultural research and farmers' extension problems, lack of coordination and
communication between agricultural sectors and higher learning institutions, and lower salary level and
fewer resources for field agricultural extension agents are found the major potential reasons/challenges
that make sample households‟ non-accessed. Furthermore, the Logit model result shows that
Kebele/”ganda” of the household head, access to agricultural extension training, access to credit service,
irrigation use, and rural households‟ having a telephone were found the major determinant factors. Thus,
agro-ecology and need-based, participatory, and pluralistic agricultural extension policy is needed
Description
Keywords
Livelihoods, poverty, agricultural extension services, rural households, Jimma Geenti Woreda