Rural poverty and inequality in Ethiopia: does access to small-scale irrigation make a difference?

The underlying causes of rural poverty are many in Ethiopia, however, the persistent fluctuation in the amount and distribution of rainfall is considered as a major contributing factor. Cognizant of this reality the successive Ethiopian governments, NGOs and farmers have made considerable investment...

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Main Authors: Namara, Regassa E., Makombe, Godswill, Hagos, Fitsum, Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40529
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author Namara, Regassa E.
Makombe, Godswill
Hagos, Fitsum
Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele
author_browse Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele
Hagos, Fitsum
Makombe, Godswill
Namara, Regassa E.
author_facet Namara, Regassa E.
Makombe, Godswill
Hagos, Fitsum
Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele
author_sort Namara, Regassa E.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The underlying causes of rural poverty are many in Ethiopia, however, the persistent fluctuation in the amount and distribution of rainfall is considered as a major contributing factor. Cognizant of this reality the successive Ethiopian governments, NGOs and farmers have made considerable investments in small-scale irrigation systems. This paper analyzes the efficacy of these investments in reducing poverty based on data obtained from a survey of 1024 farmers drawn from four major regional states of Ethiopia. The Foster, Greer and Thorbecke poverty indices were used to compare the incidence, depth and severity of poverty among groups of farmers defined by relevant policy variables including access to irrigation. Logistic regression model was fitted to explore the correlates of rural poverty. The main conclusion of the study is that poverty is affected more by the intensity of irrigation use than mere access to irrigation and there seem to be an economy of scale in the poverty-irrigation nexus.
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spelling CGSpace405292024-05-04T09:08:56Z Rural poverty and inequality in Ethiopia: does access to small-scale irrigation make a difference? Namara, Regassa E. Makombe, Godswill Hagos, Fitsum Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele rural poverty small scale systems irrigation systems indicators households income farm size livestock cropping patterns socioeconomic environment policy The underlying causes of rural poverty are many in Ethiopia, however, the persistent fluctuation in the amount and distribution of rainfall is considered as a major contributing factor. Cognizant of this reality the successive Ethiopian governments, NGOs and farmers have made considerable investments in small-scale irrigation systems. This paper analyzes the efficacy of these investments in reducing poverty based on data obtained from a survey of 1024 farmers drawn from four major regional states of Ethiopia. The Foster, Greer and Thorbecke poverty indices were used to compare the incidence, depth and severity of poverty among groups of farmers defined by relevant policy variables including access to irrigation. Logistic regression model was fitted to explore the correlates of rural poverty. The main conclusion of the study is that poverty is affected more by the intensity of irrigation use than mere access to irrigation and there seem to be an economy of scale in the poverty-irrigation nexus. 2010 2014-06-13T14:47:51Z 2014-06-13T14:47:51Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40529 en Limited Access Namara, Regassa; Makombe, Godswill; Hagos, Fitsum; Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele. 2010. Rural poverty and inequality in Ethiopia: does access to small-scale irrigation make a difference? Ethiopian Journal of Development Research, 32(2):1-31.
spellingShingle rural poverty
small scale systems
irrigation systems
indicators
households
income
farm size
livestock
cropping patterns
socioeconomic environment
policy
Namara, Regassa E.
Makombe, Godswill
Hagos, Fitsum
Awulachew, Seleshi Bekele
Rural poverty and inequality in Ethiopia: does access to small-scale irrigation make a difference?
title Rural poverty and inequality in Ethiopia: does access to small-scale irrigation make a difference?
title_full Rural poverty and inequality in Ethiopia: does access to small-scale irrigation make a difference?
title_fullStr Rural poverty and inequality in Ethiopia: does access to small-scale irrigation make a difference?
title_full_unstemmed Rural poverty and inequality in Ethiopia: does access to small-scale irrigation make a difference?
title_short Rural poverty and inequality in Ethiopia: does access to small-scale irrigation make a difference?
title_sort rural poverty and inequality in ethiopia does access to small scale irrigation make a difference
topic rural poverty
small scale systems
irrigation systems
indicators
households
income
farm size
livestock
cropping patterns
socioeconomic environment
policy
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40529
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