Search

Degraded land is a major danger to agricultural productivity and food security in Ethiopia. Sustainable land management technologies (SLMTs), through targeted interventions, have been applied to address this problem. Notwithstanding some of the known agricultural and environmental benefits connected with the adoption of some SLMTs, the adoption rate remains below expectations. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the relationships and determinants of the adoption of SLMTs in eastern and southern Ethiopia. Data were collected from 384 sampled households selected using multi-stage sampling techniques. Descriptive statistics and multivariate probit (MVP) model were used to analyze data. Estimated results of MVP revealed that the adoption of SLMTs is positively and significantly influenced by education level, livestock, membership in a social group, extension contacts, access to SLM information, training, credit, land tenure, and slope, while age, farm distance, and the number of active family members due to youth migration abroad had negative effects. The widely adopted SLMTs on farmlands were inorganic fertilizer (49.5%), soil bunds (48.4%), bench terraces (47.2%), intercropping (46.1%), and manure (38%). This study concluded that farmers invested a blend of SLMTs, some of which complemented and others substituted for one another. Therefore, policy-makers and planners should focus on fortifying human and local institutions' capacity to implement SLM and consider SLM technology interdependencies before communicating with farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa with a total fertility rate (TFR) of 4.8 children per a woman and contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) of 29 %. The overall prevalence of modern family planning in a pastoralist community, like Afar region, is low (9.1 %). This study aimed to assess family planning utilization and associated factors among married women of Afar region, Eastern Ethiopia.Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from January 10-28, 2013 among 602 women. Multistage sampling technique was used to select the study participants. Descriptive and multiple variable logistic regression analyses were done to isolate independent predictors on utilization of family planning using SPSS 20.Results: The overall prevalence of family planning utilization in Afar region was 8.5 % (6.2-10.7). Majority of the women (92.2 %) had used injectable. The most common reasons mentioned in the non-use of family planning methods were religion-related (85.3 %), desire to have more children (75.3 %), and husband's objection (70.1 %). Women who had a positive attitude towards family planning utilization (AOR = 4.7, 95 % CI: 2.1, 10.3), owning radio (AOR = 1.8, 95 % CI: 1.02, 4.18), and literate (AOR = 4.4, 95 % CI: 1.80, 11.08) were more likely to use family planning methods as compared to their counterparts. The increase of monthly income was also associated with the likelihood of family planning methods utilization. The odds of using family planning methods were higher among those with monthly income of $27-$55.5 (AOR = 2. 0, 95 % CI: 1.9, 4.7) and > $55 (AOR = 4. 6, 95 % CI: 1.23-17.19) as compared to women with the lowest category of monthly income ($27 and less).Conclusion: The low coverage of family planning in the region could be due to the influence of husband, religious and clan leader. Attitude of women towards family planning methods, possession of radio, monthly income, and educational status could influence family planning utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vulnerability assessment varies widely across households, countries, and regions. Though many previous studies assessed vulnerability to climate change, their unit of analysis was aggregate. Therefore, the objective of this study was to measure the vulnerability of smallholder farmers to climate change at the household level and identify its determinant factors in east Hararghe zone. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select districts, kebeles, and sample respondents. Vulnerability as expected poverty approach was used to measure household-level vulnerability. Logit model was also used to assess factors contributing to households' vulnerability. The study revealed that 73% of households were vulnerable to climate-induced shocks. Households with better farm experience, land size, livestock ownership, access to credit, access to extension service, social capital, access to climate information, non-farm income, and headed by a male were not vulnerable to climate change; whereas households who were living in low and midland agro-ecologies, far from the market, and participating in productive safety-net programs were vulnerable to climate change. The study indicated that the vulnerability of smallholder farmers was sensitive to the minimum income required to maintain daily life. Income-generating activities that supplement farm income should be well designed in policy to reduce the vulnerability of smallholder farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]