13 research outputs found
Urban Informal Sector as a Livelihood Strategy of Women: The Case of ‘Tella’ and ‘Katicala’ Producers and Sellers in Dejen Town, East Gojjam Zone, Amhara Regional State
No full textUrban poverty and unemployment in many urban centers of Ethiopia has been expanding. These pushed
many people particularly the urban poor and other impoverished groups of the society to various incomegenerating activities in the informal sector. Just like other urban centers of the country, the urban poor
women in Dejen town are engaged in different informal activities; however, their participation is intense
in the processing of ‘Tella’ and ‘Katicala’. These alcoholic drinks were previously prepared for homebased drinks and to colorfully celebrate cultural holidays, but the current economic hardship together
with other factors forced women to use it as a commercial item. The purpose of this study is to assess the
livelihood conditions of women in the urban informal sector with particular emphasis on ‘Tella’ and
‘Katicala’ producers and sellers in Dejen town. In order to achieve this objective, two types of sampling
techniques (purposive and stratified sampling) were used and a sample of 115 women were selected and
relevant data were gathered through questionnaire, interviews and observations. The data collected from
different sources were analyzed quantitatively (using frequency, percent, mean, median and correlations)
and qualitatively.
The finding of the study reveals that most of the operators are in the productive age groups, illiterate,
migrants and were house wives. The study also found that the reasons for women participation into
informal activities were lack of alternatives for living, divorce, insufficient monthly income, school
dropouts, family and/or husband death, and presence of large dependents in the households.
The study indicated that most of the participants have started the business with small capital, on average
177 birr. The finding further reveals low monthly income of participants i.e. 343 birr on average and is
influenced by frequency of selling, way of production and seasonality of customers and inputs. The
majority of operators were living and working in rented, old and physically deteriorating houses and
these houses lacked basic services and amenities. It was also found that food insecurity is a common
shock being faced these women; to tackle the problem women made various adjustments like change in
consumption pattern, borrowing items from friends/relatives, diversifying income sources and selling
households assets/property. The problem of housing, shortage of working capital, strong competition,
lack of institutional and government support, fluctuation in demand and cost of inputs and health
problems were reported as major working constraints for these women
Comparative multidimensional analysis of agroforestry's impact on food security: A study of households in the Awi Zone Highlands, Ethiopia
No full textThis study assesses the food security condition of Acacia-based agroforestry (ABA) user and non-user households in Awi Zone highlands, Ethiopia, using a composite approach. Purposive and random samplings were employed to select sample districts and households. Data were collected through questionnaires, discussions, and interviews, and analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Results showed that 42.2% of the households (46.9% ABA-users, 37.5% non-users) were food-secure, while 57.8% were food-insecure. ABA-users’ composite food security index was significantly higher than non-users (P<0.05), signifying ABA's contributions. Livestock and farmland size, participation in off-farm activities, irrigation access, plantation experiences, and perceived soil quality positively affected food security, while age, family size, credit access, and market distance negatively impacted it. Addressing lavish sociocultural practices, and intensifying agroforestry helps to combat food insecurity
Book Review: Wildlife ecology and conservation
No full textBook Title: Wildlife ecology and conservationBook Author: Mundanthra BalakrishnanPublished by Scientific Publishers, Jodhpur/New Delhi (Published in May 2016) ISBN: 978-81-7233-974-
Livelihood benefits and challenges of <i>Acacia decurrens</i>-based agroforestry system in Awi Zone highlands, Northwest Ethiopia
No full textAcacia decurrens (hereafter Acacia) agroforestry system has been expanding rapidly in the northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. The agroforestry system provides multiple eco-environmental services; however, there is inadequate quantitative evidence on its livelihood benefits. This study, therefore, investigated the livelihood benefits and challenges of Acacia-based agroforestry system in the Awi area, Northwest Ethiopia. Data was collected through household survey quetionnaires (296 randomly selected Acacia growers), focused-group discussions, interviews, and observations. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used for the data analysis. The findings showed that crop production, charcoal making, animal rearing, and fuelwood selling were the major sources of livelihood. Notwithstanding the complex challenges (Acacia pests/diseases, traditional charcoal-making, limited road access and market opportunities, negative human-health impacts, and high production cost), Acacia-based agroforestry positively affected farmers livelihoods. Comparatively, the natural, physical, financial, human and social capital indices of farmers were higher by 0.25, 0.24, 0.43, 0.25, and 0.06, respectively, in the post-than pre-Acacia periods. The overall livelihood index of farmers increased from 0.47 (pre-Acacia) to 0.71 in the post-Acacia period. The study concluded that this agroforestry practice has immense livelihood benefits, although diverse challenges question its sustainability. Therefore, short and long-term strategies should be designed to strengthen the opportunities and address the challenges.</p
Promoting a culture of quality assurance at the Economic Commission for Africa: 2018–2019 biennial report
No full textPromoting a culture of quality assurance at the Economic Commission for Africa 2018–2019 biennial report. The present report was prepared under the overall coordination and substantive guidance of Demba Diarra, Chief of Strategic Planning, Oversight and Results Division-Standards and Quality Assurance Section. The lead author was Hodane Youssouf, Economic Affairs Officer, with substantive contributions from: Afework Temtime, Programme Management Officer; Katherina Goetze, Associate Programme Management Officer; and Getachew Rorisa, Senior Programme Management Assistant. The present report also benefited from the technical assistance provided by Teklu Leul, Senior Information Systems Assistant, in rolling out the online survey, which enabled us to amass valuable contributions, comments and suggestions from the survey respondents. A special mention goes to the ECA Publications and Conference Management Section for their editing, translation and design assistance. The reorganization of quality assurance panels and compliance with quality assurance procedures have led to a more systematic delivery of ECA products and services and have enhanced the robustness of ECA outputs
Policies and Program Implementation Experience to Improve Maternal Nutrition in Ethiopia
No full textBACKGROUND:
Maternal undernutrition persists as a serious problem in Ethiopia. Although there are maternal nutrition interventions that are efficacious and effective in improving maternal, neonatal, and child health (MNCH) outcomes, implementation has been limited.
OBJECTIVE:
This study explored needs, perceptions, priorities,facilitatingfactors and barriers to implementation of relevant policies and programs to find opportunities to improve maternal nutrition in Ethiopia
METHODS:
Background information was compiled and synthesized for a situation analysis. This informed focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with mothers, community leaders, health workers, and district health officials in four woredas (districts) in Tigray and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region.
RESULTS:
Findings focused on three priority issues: maternal anemia, intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), and maternal thinness and stunting. Community-level investigations found that women's low status, food insecurity and poverty, and workload were key factors perceived to contribute to women's undernutrition. Awareness of and demand for services to improve women's nutrition were low, except for high demand for supplementary food. On the supply side, barriers included low prioritization of maternal nutrition in health and nutrition service delivery and weak technical capacity to deliver context-sensitive maternal nutrition interventions at all levels.
CONCLUSIONS:
Community-based health and nutrition services were promising platforms for expanding access to interventions such as micronutrient supplements and social and behavior change communication. Investments are needed to support these community-based programs, including training, supplies, supervision and monitoring. To address IUGR at scale, increased access to cash or food transfers could be explored
Comparative analysis of RUSLE and SWPT for sub-watershed conservation prioritization in the Ayu watershed, Abay basin, Ethiopia
No full textEthiopia is currently facing a major environmental problem caused by soil erosion. In order to tackle this problem, it is essential to implement a comprehensive watershed management approach and give priority to conservation efforts depending on the level of severity. Therefore, the objective of this research is to evaluate the mean annual soil erosion and rank the sub-watersheds for conservations in the Ayu watershed, utilizing the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model and the Sub-Watershed Prioritization Tool (SWPT). RUSLE was utilized to predict the annual average soil erosion rate, while SWPT was applied to conduct Weighted Sum Analysis (WSA) for ranking sub-watersheds. Support Vector Machine (SVM) was employed for classifying land use and land cover. The Relative importance of morphometric and topo-hydrologic features in the SWPT was analyzed using a Random Forest model. The Bland-Altman plot and Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test were employed to assess the agreement in prioritizing watersheds between RUSLE results and the SWPT. Furthermore, field observations were conducted to validate the land use classification by collecting ground data. In addition, the study was enhanced with local viewpoints by conducting focus group discussions with agricultural experts and farmers to obtain qualitative insights and validation of resuts. The findings showed that soil loss varied from 0 to 110 t/ha/yr, with an average of 8.95 t/ha/yr, resulting in a total loss of 384365.3 tons annually. The comparison of RUSLE and SWPT showed a moderate positive relationship (r = 0.59). The results of the Bland-Altman plot indicate a consistent agreement between the two methods. However, there is inconsistency among the five sub watersheds. This study enhances the knowledge of soil erosion patterns and offers useful guidance for watershed conservation techniques. It can be also used as a beneficial framework for managing watersheds, with possible uses outside of the Ayu watershed
Accuracy of assessment of eligibility for early medical abortion by community health workers in Ethiopia, India and South Africa
No full textTo assess the accuracy of assessment of eligibility for early medical abortion by community health workers using a simple checklist toolkit.; Diagnostic accuracy study.; Ethiopia, India and South Africa.; Two hundred seventeen women in Ethiopia, 258 in India and 236 in South Africa were enrolled into the study. A checklist toolkit to determine eligibility for early medical abortion was validated by comparing results of clinician and community health worker assessment of eligibility using the checklist toolkit with the reference standard exam.; Accuracy was over 90% and the negative likelihood ratio <0.1 at all three sites when used by clinician assessors. Positive likelihood ratios were 4.3 in Ethiopia, 5.8 in India and 6.3 in South Africa. When used by community health workers the overall accuracy of the toolkit was 92% in Ethiopia, 80% in India and 77% in South Africa negative likelihood ratios were 0.08 in Ethiopia, 0.25 in India and 0.22 in South Africa and positive likelihood ratios were 5.9 in Ethiopia and 2.0 in India and South Africa.; The checklist toolkit, as used by clinicians, was excellent at ruling out participants who were not eligible, and moderately effective at ruling in participants who were eligible for medical abortion. Results were promising when used by community health workers particularly in Ethiopia where they had more prior experience with use of diagnostic aids and longer professional training. The checklist toolkit assessments resulted in some participants being wrongly assessed as eligible for medical abortion which is an area of concern. Further research is needed to streamline the components of the tool, explore optimal duration and content of training for community health workers, and test feasibility and acceptability
Soil loss estimation in Ethiopia: a comprehensive review of the RUSLE model integrated with geospatial technologies
No full textAbstract Soil erosion in Ethiopia harms agricultural production, water quality, and overall ecosystem health. Effective soil loss estimation can help minimize these outcomes. The implementation of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) in Ethiopia has not been sufficiently evaluated. Thus, the main objective of this review is to systematically review the comprehensive strengths and limitations of the RUSLE model applications for soil loss estimation. Specifically, it evaluates the specific parameters used, the type of input data, the validation approaches, and the role of GIS and remote sensing in the computation process of the RUSLE Model. An extensive search method was employed to classify suitable research papers about applying the RUSLE model in estimating soil erosion in Ethiopia. The review underscores that different approaches have been used to compute the five parameters of the RUSLE model. Key strengths of the RUSLE model include its widespread acceptance and adaptability to various environmental conditions; however, notable limitations are evident, regarding the validation and calibration processes. This review highlights that the scale of study areas varies widely, from 18.33 to 1,119,683 km2. Soil loss estimates across the reviewed studies ranged from 12.94 to 576 t ha−1 yr−1. The findings of this review presented here are critical for using the RUSLE model to estimate soil loss integrating it with other process-based models and the advanced machine learning technologies. Ultimately, this review aids in improving soil resource management and ecological sustainability in Ethiopia
