The evolving livestock sector in Ethiopia: Growth by heads, not by productivity
The evolving livestock sector in Ethiopia: Growth by heads, not by productivity

Author: Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2018-08-09

Total Pages: 26

ISBN-13:

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Livestock is important in Ethiopia’s agricultural economy as almost all farmers own some livestock. Livestock assets are valued at 720 USD per farm on average. Overall livestock output has grown rapidly over the last decade, estimated at almost 6 percent per year, but about 80 percent of that growth came from increases in the number of livestock. The stock of different livestock species was about 50 percent higher in 2015 than a decade earlier, while modern input use and improvements in production methods contributed little to growth in the livestock sector. Linked to improved access to extension and markets, adoption of improved breeds and improved feeding practices increased, but such adoption patterns started from a very low base. Within the livestock sector, cattle are dominant, making up an estimated three-quarters of the value of livestock stock. However, the share of cattle in total livestock output is declining, and small ruminants are on the rise, especially in pastoralist areas. Given the rapid growth in livestock numbers and the increasing livestock density per unit of land, we find that feeding practices are changing. Grazing land is declining in availability, so reliance on commercial feed markets is increasing. Access to vaccinations and veterinary service provision have improved, and livestock death rates declined slightly over the last decade. However, the number of livestock lost to deaths is still more than twice the number sold for meat production, indicating important challenges remaining for the development of the livestock sector in Ethiopia.

Transforming agri-food systems in Ethiopia: Evidence from the dairy sector
Transforming agri-food systems in Ethiopia: Evidence from the dairy sector

Author: Minten, Bart

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2018-12-18

Total Pages: 34

ISBN-13:

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In the transformation of agri-food systems in developing countries, we usually see rapid changes in the livestock sector. However, good data for clearly understanding this transformation are often lacking, especially so in Africa. Relying on a combination of diverse large-scale datasets and methods, we analyze transformation patterns in the dairy value chain supplying Addis Ababa, the capital and biggest city of Ethiopia. Over the last decade, we note a rapid increase in expenditures on dairy products by urban consumers, especially among the better-off. Relatedly, the number of dairy processing firms in Ethiopia tripled over the same period, supplying a significant part of these dairy products, especially pasteurized milk, to the city’s residents. The number of dairy traders increased rapidly as well, with competition between them becoming more intense over time. Upstream at the production level, we find improved access to livestock services, higher adoption of cross-bred cows, a shift from grazing to commercial feeds, an increase in milk yields, expanding liquid milk markets, a sizable urban farm sector supplying almost one-third of all liquid milk consumed in the city, and an upscaling process with larger commercial dairy farms becoming more prevalent. However, average milk yields are still low and not all dairy farmers are included in this transformation process. Small farms with dairy animals as well as those in more remote areas benefit less from access to services and adopt less these modern practices. For these more disadvantaged farmers, stagnation in milk yields and even declines – depending on the data source used – are observed.

The rising costs of nutritious foods: The case of Ethiopia
The rising costs of nutritious foods: The case of Ethiopia

Author: Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2019-08-27

Total Pages: 27

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Costs of healthy diets are worryingly rising in a number of developed and emerging economies. However, less is known on these costs for developing countries. Using price data from a large number of markets in Ethiopia, we find that real prices of all nutritionally-rich food groups increased significantly (between 19 and 62 percent) over the period 2007 to 2016. This contrasts with (1) staple crops (grains, roots, and tubers), which did not show any price increase, and (2) oils, fats, and sugar, the prices of which decreased substantially. Using detailed nationwide datasets and relying on time series methods, we link these price increases to changes in local markets, demand and supply factors, transaction costs, and international trade. We find that prices of nutritionally-rich food groups – compared to cereals – are relatively less affected by international trade and exchange rate changes but more so by rapidly increasing local and city demand. This rising demand is likely due to recent income growth and rapid urbanization and the high-income elasticities for nutritious foods in Ethiopia. Moreover, we find that local production changes affected prices of nutritious items little, but national price rises were found to have been significantly linked with food price rises in commercial clusters in the country. Changes in transaction costs – fuel and transport costs – explained relatively little of the observed food price changes.

Access to markets, weather risk, and livestock production decisions: Evidence from Ethiopia
Access to markets, weather risk, and livestock production decisions: Evidence from Ethiopia

Author: Abay, Kibrom A.

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2020-03-03

Total Pages: 29

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Despite several studies showing the effect of access to markets and weather conditions on crop production, we know quite little on whether and how livestock production systems respond to variation in weather risk and access to markets. In this paper, we study whether and how livestock production responds to access to markets and varying weather risk. We also explore whether such responses vary across livelihood zones and livestock production systems. We study these research questions using information on the livestock production, ownership, and marketing decisions of households in Ethiopia. We find that households living close to markets are more likely to engage in market-oriented livestock production and use modern livestock inputs. We also find that households exposed to more unpredictable weather are less likely to engage in livestock production for markets. Rather, they are more likely to engage in livestock production for precautionary savings and insurance. Furthermore, greater rainfall uncertainty influences livestock portfolio allocation towards those types of livestock which can be easily liquidated, while also discouraging investment in modern livestock inputs. However, these responses and patterns vary across livelihood zones and production systems - most of these stylized responses and impacts are more pronounced in the arid and semi-arid lands of Ethiopia, where livestock herding remains a dominant source of livelihood. Those households relying only on livestock production seem more sensitive and responsive to weather risk and weather shocks. The heterogeneity in responses to and impacts of weather risk among farming systems and livelihoods highlights the need for more tailored livestock sector policies and interventions.

Geography of public service delivery in rural Ethiopia
Geography of public service delivery in rural Ethiopia

Author: Abate, Gashaw T.

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2019-07-24

Total Pages: 27

ISBN-13:

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Remote areas are often characterized by lower welfare outcomes due to economic disadvantages and higher transaction costs for trade. But their worse situation may also be linked to worse public service delivery. Relying on large household surveys in rural Ethiopia, we explore this by assessing the association of two measures of remoteness – (1) the distance of villages and primary service centers to district capitals and (2) the distance of households to service centers (the last mile) – with public service delivery in agriculture and health sectors. In the agriculture sector, we document statistically significant and economically meaningful associations between exposure to agriculture extension and the two measures of remoteness. For health extension, only the last mile matters. These differences between the two sectors could be due to the fact that more remote villages tend to have fewer agriculture extension workers who also put in fewer hours than their peers in more connected areas. This does not apply in the health sector. These findings provide valuable inputs for policymakers aiming to improve inclusiveness in poor rural areas.

Meat, milk and more: Policy innovations to shepherd inclusive and sustainable livestock systems in Africa
Meat, milk and more: Policy innovations to shepherd inclusive and sustainable livestock systems in Africa

Author: Malabo Montpellier Panel

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2020-07-29

Total Pages: 94

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Meat, Milk & More: Policy Innovations to Shepherd Inclusive and Sustainable Livestock Systems in Africa highlights options for sustainably promoting growth in the livestock sector, drawing from what four African countries—Ethiopia, Mali, South Africa, and Uganda—have done successfully in terms of institutional and policy innovation as well as programmatic interventions. By adapting these lessons to countries’ specific contexts and scaling them up across the continent, African governments can meet their national and international commitments to agricultural growth and transformation.

Sustainable Resource Development in the 21st Century
Sustainable Resource Development in the 21st Century

Author: David Zilberman

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2023-12-16

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 3031248236

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This is an open access book. This edited volume discusses topics in environmental economics with a focus on sustainability, conservation, and responsible resource management. Written in memory of Peter Berck, Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, the chapters expand upon his insights about the connections between human activities and the natural world. The volume includes a selection of research on agriculture, energy, forestry, fisheries, land use, recycling, and conservation – all parts of the broad question of how natural resources can meet human needs while avoiding environmental degradation. Written from a 21st century perspective, with concerns about climate, renewable energy, biodiversity, and sustainable development, this volume will be of interest to researchers and students of agricultural and resource economics.

Global Livestock Production Systems
Global Livestock Production Systems

Author: Timothy P. Robinson

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789251070338

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Informed livestock sector policy development and priority setting is heavily dependent on a good understanding of livestock production systems. In a collaborative effort between the Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Livestock Research Institute, stock has been taken of where we have come from in agricultural systems classification and mapping; the current state of the art; and the directions in which research and data collection efforts need to take in the future. The book also addresses issues relating to the intensity and scale of production, moving from what is done to how it is done. The intensification of production is an area of particular importance, for it is in the intensive systems that changes are occurring most rapidly and where most information is needed on the implications that intensification of production may have for livelihoods, poverty alleviation, animal diseases, public health and environmental outcomes. A series of case studies is provided, linking livestock production systems to rural livelihoods and poverty and examples of the application of livestock production system maps are drawn from livestock production, now and in the future; livestock's impact on the global environment; animal and public health; and livestock and livelihoods. This book provides a formal reference to Version 5 of the global livestock production systems map, and to revised estimates of the numbers of rural poor livestock keepers, by country and livestock production system.