Wheat Varietal Diversification Increases Ethiopian Smallholders’ Food Security: Evidence from a Participatory Development Initiative

Department of Dryland Crop and Horticultural Sciences, College of Dryland Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mekelle University, P.O. Box 231, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia

⁶

Sirinka Agricultural Research Center, P.O. Box 74, North Wollo, Woldia, Ethiopia

⁷

Economics and Policy Group, Federico II, Department Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Claudio, 21, 80125 Naples, Italy

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Academic Editor: Filippo Giarratana

Sustainability 2021, 13(3), 1029; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031029

Received: 10 December 2020 / Revised: 12 January 2021 / Accepted: 13 January 2021 / Published: 20 January 2021

(This article belongs to the Collection Designing More Diverse and Resilient Food Systems for the Future)

View Full-Text Download PDF

Browse Figures

Citation Export

Abstract

This study assesses the impact of a participatory development program called Seeds For Needs, carried out in Ethiopia to support smallholders in addressing climate change and its consequences through the introduction, selection, use, and management of suitable crop varieties. More specifically, it analyzes the program’s role of boosting durum wheat varietal diversification and agrobiodiversity to support higher crop productivity and strengthen smallholder food security. The study is based on a survey of 1008 households across three major wheat-growing regional states: Amhara, Oromia, and Tigray. A doubly robust estimator was employed to properly estimate the impact of Seeds For Needs interventions. The results show that program activities have significantly enhanced wheat crop productivity and smallholders’ food security by increasing wheat varietal diversification. This paper provides further empirical evidence for the effective role that varietal diversity can play in improving food security in marginal environments, and also provides clear indications for development agencies regarding the importance of improving smallholders’ access to crop genetic resources. View Full-Text

Keywords: on-farm diversity; adoption; durum wheat; crowdsourcing

▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Gotor, E.; Usman, M.A.; Occelli, M.; Fantahun, B.; Fadda, C.; Kidane, Y.G.; Mengistu, D.; Kiros, A.Y.; Mohammed, J.N.; Assefa, M.; Woldesemayate, T.; Caracciolo, F. Wheat Varietal Diversification Increases Ethiopian Smallholders’ Food Security: Evidence from a Participatory Development Initiative. Sustainability 2021, 13, 1029. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031029

AMA Style

Gotor E, Usman MA, Occelli M, Fantahun B, Fadda C, Kidane YG, Mengistu D, Kiros AY, Mohammed JN, Assefa M, Woldesemayate T, Caracciolo F. Wheat Varietal Diversification Increases Ethiopian Smallholders’ Food Security: Evidence from a Participatory Development Initiative. Sustainability. 2021; 13(3):1029. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031029

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gotor, Elisabetta, Muhammed A. Usman, Martina Occelli, Basazen Fantahun, Carlo Fadda, Yosef G. Kidane, Dejene Mengistu, Afewerki Y. Kiros, Jemal N. Mohammed, Mekonen Assefa, Tesfaye Woldesemayate, and Francesco Caracciolo. 2021. "Wheat Varietal Diversification Increases Ethiopian Smallholders’ Food Security: Evidence from a Participatory Development Initiative" Sustainability 13, no. 3: 1029. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031029

Find Other Styles

Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Abstract views Pdf views Html views

Article Menu

Wheat Varietal Diversification Increases Ethiopian Smallholders’ Food Security: Evidence from a Participatory Development Initiative

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Article Access Map by Country/Region

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI