Agricultural intensification in Ethiopia: Patterns, trends, and welfare impacts

Ethiopia has made substantial efforts in the last three decades to increase agricultural productivity through modern input intensification and stimulate overall economic growth. Despite the high growth rates in recent decade, Ethiopia’s overall intensification and yield levels remained below what is...

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Main Authors: Berhane, Guush, Abate, Gashaw T., Wolle, Abdulazize
Format: Artículo preliminar
Language:Inglés
Published: International Food Policy Research Institute 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140826
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author Berhane, Guush
Abate, Gashaw T.
Wolle, Abdulazize
author_browse Abate, Gashaw T.
Berhane, Guush
Wolle, Abdulazize
author_facet Berhane, Guush
Abate, Gashaw T.
Wolle, Abdulazize
author_sort Berhane, Guush
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Ethiopia has made substantial efforts in the last three decades to increase agricultural productivity through modern input intensification and stimulate overall economic growth. Despite the high growth rates in recent decade, Ethiopia’s overall intensification and yield levels remained below what is considered optimal. This study examines the patterns, trends, and drivers of agricultural intensification and productivity growth during the recent decade (2012 - 2019) using three rounds of representative household data collected from the four main agriculturally important regions of the country. The descriptive results indicate a positive trend in both the adoption rate and intensity of inputs and output, albeit from a low base compared to other contexts and with considerable heterogeneity by access to information, rainfall levels and variability, labor, soil quality, remoteness, among others. The econometric results show significant association between intensification, yield growth, household dietary diversity (a proxy measure for food and nutrition security), and consumer durables. However, the results on the association between current yield levels and per capita consumption expenditures are mixed (i.e., while an increase in cereal yield only improve food consumption expenditures, an increase in cash crops yield mainly improve non-food consumption expenditures). In sum, while the increasing input intensification and the resulting yield gains are associated with improvement in household diets and consumer durables, it falls short to have strong impact on incomes (as measured by total consumption expenditures), indicating that more efforts have to be made to see meaningful impacts on higher order outcomes. Additional welfare improving productivity gains through increased input intensifications may require investments to put in place appropriate fertilizer blends linked with localized soil nutrient requirements, investments to generate locally suited improved seeds and appropriate mechanisms to reach farmers, ways to mitigate production (rainfall) risk, and investments to remodel Ethiopia’s extension system to provided much needed technical support to farmers on production methods.
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spelling CGSpace1408262025-12-02T21:02:41Z Agricultural intensification in Ethiopia: Patterns, trends, and welfare impacts Berhane, Guush Abate, Gashaw T. Wolle, Abdulazize income production soil farmers welfare welfare economics labour agriculture farm inputs consumption patterns input output analysis econometrics productivity intensification rainfall patterns cereal crops yield potential rain nutrition security fertilizers seeds households fertilizer formulations agricultural transformation cash crops nutrition soil quality food security growth yield factors statistical methods dietary diversity Ethiopia has made substantial efforts in the last three decades to increase agricultural productivity through modern input intensification and stimulate overall economic growth. Despite the high growth rates in recent decade, Ethiopia’s overall intensification and yield levels remained below what is considered optimal. This study examines the patterns, trends, and drivers of agricultural intensification and productivity growth during the recent decade (2012 - 2019) using three rounds of representative household data collected from the four main agriculturally important regions of the country. The descriptive results indicate a positive trend in both the adoption rate and intensity of inputs and output, albeit from a low base compared to other contexts and with considerable heterogeneity by access to information, rainfall levels and variability, labor, soil quality, remoteness, among others. The econometric results show significant association between intensification, yield growth, household dietary diversity (a proxy measure for food and nutrition security), and consumer durables. However, the results on the association between current yield levels and per capita consumption expenditures are mixed (i.e., while an increase in cereal yield only improve food consumption expenditures, an increase in cash crops yield mainly improve non-food consumption expenditures). In sum, while the increasing input intensification and the resulting yield gains are associated with improvement in household diets and consumer durables, it falls short to have strong impact on incomes (as measured by total consumption expenditures), indicating that more efforts have to be made to see meaningful impacts on higher order outcomes. Additional welfare improving productivity gains through increased input intensifications may require investments to put in place appropriate fertilizer blends linked with localized soil nutrient requirements, investments to generate locally suited improved seeds and appropriate mechanisms to reach farmers, ways to mitigate production (rainfall) risk, and investments to remodel Ethiopia’s extension system to provided much needed technical support to farmers on production methods. 2022-12-20 2024-04-12T13:36:42Z 2024-04-12T13:36:42Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140826 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Berhane, Guush; Abate, Gashaw Tadesse; and Wolle, Abdulazize. 2022. Agricultural intensification in Ethiopia: Patterns, trends, and welfare impacts. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2150. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136483.
spellingShingle income
production
soil
farmers
welfare
welfare economics
labour
agriculture
farm inputs
consumption patterns
input output analysis
econometrics
productivity
intensification
rainfall patterns
cereal crops
yield potential
rain
nutrition security
fertilizers
seeds
households
fertilizer formulations
agricultural transformation
cash crops
nutrition
soil quality
food security
growth
yield factors
statistical methods
dietary diversity
Berhane, Guush
Abate, Gashaw T.
Wolle, Abdulazize
Agricultural intensification in Ethiopia: Patterns, trends, and welfare impacts
title Agricultural intensification in Ethiopia: Patterns, trends, and welfare impacts
title_full Agricultural intensification in Ethiopia: Patterns, trends, and welfare impacts
title_fullStr Agricultural intensification in Ethiopia: Patterns, trends, and welfare impacts
title_full_unstemmed Agricultural intensification in Ethiopia: Patterns, trends, and welfare impacts
title_short Agricultural intensification in Ethiopia: Patterns, trends, and welfare impacts
title_sort agricultural intensification in ethiopia patterns trends and welfare impacts
topic income
production
soil
farmers
welfare
welfare economics
labour
agriculture
farm inputs
consumption patterns
input output analysis
econometrics
productivity
intensification
rainfall patterns
cereal crops
yield potential
rain
nutrition security
fertilizers
seeds
households
fertilizer formulations
agricultural transformation
cash crops
nutrition
soil quality
food security
growth
yield factors
statistical methods
dietary diversity
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140826
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