This paper evaluates the nature and determinants of community management (collective action) of woodlots and grazing lands in the northern Ethiopian highlands of Tigray. It identifies the nature of management of woodlots and grazing lands, the roles of different organisations (local and external…

Using a household bioeconomic modelling approach, this paper analyses the impact of advancing in-kind credit in the form of fertilizer and seed on smallholder farmers with different levels of wealth in the Ethiopian highlands. Cropland allocation and household consumption patterns are examined…

Enset (Ensete ventricosum) production is declining, and it faces genetic erosion due to drought, diseases and population pressure. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and additional formal survey studies on 315 households were conducted over three consecutive years (1998–2000) in the Sidama,…

This paper investigates the livelihood strategies and land management practices used in the highlands of Tigray region, the factor influencing them, and their implications for crop production and income, livestock income and investment, other sources of income, and farmers; perceptions of land…

Soil erosion by water constitutes a threat to the maintenance of the subsistence living of the Ethiopian rural population. Past efforts at Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) did not bring about significant results, mainly because of the top-down approach pursued. Uprooting this past oversight and…

Soil erosion seriously threatens the future agricultural productivity of Ethiopia's highlands. In analyzing the determinants of soil conservation investments there, this study goes beyond the conventional physical factors to examine institutional, social capital and public program effects…

This paper presents a method for stratifying villages into Development domains using multivariate analysis of a broad community-based survey. The results from the analysis are used to draw conclusions in terms of policy implications. Topics of discussion include Development domains and policy…

Although the question of relative production efficiency of indigenous land rights is central to a discussion of land reform in sub-Saharan Africa, there is relatively little rigorous empirical research because of a lack of adequate disaggregated data with the exception of few studies, the…

The Borana rangelands of southern Ethiopia are characterised by extensive livestock production in response to the area?s natural characteristics - aggregate mean rainfall ranges between 300 and 900 mm per annum with high seasonal and inter-annual variability. Though traditionally transhumant…