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Hunger and food shortages have been endemic in rural Ethiopia for countless generations; nevertheless, it was not until the mid-1970s, following the fall of the imperial regime and its replacement by the military government, the Derg, that food security became a concern in public policy discourse, and a variety of program initiatives were put in place to tackle the problem. Since then there has been increased awareness of the complex causes of food shortages and a growing determination on the part of decision-makers to bring to an end the blight of hunger and malnutrition that has been so much a part of the daily lives of millions of poor and vulnerable people in the country. This book stems from the LEAFS (Linking Emergency Assistance with Food Security) project initiated in 2007 as a collaborative project between Wageningen University Disaster Studies Department and Bahir Dar University Department of Disaster Risk Management and Sustainable Development. The project sought to understand linkages between the global and local levels in food security policy and practice, and included local level research by PhD students in two weredas of Amhara Region. This resultant volume this brings together a wide diversity of research works, many of which were specifically commissioned, looking at the effects of food security interventions broadly, and the PSNP in particular, on individuals households, communities, regions and the country as a whole, providing a springboard for wider public debate and reflection.

The main purpose of this study was to explore current issues surrounding Ethiopian private higher education institutions (PHEIs) and assess the impact of regulatory practices on the smooth operation of PHEIs. The findings of the study revealed that PHEIs are making significant contribution towards increasing access to higher education and creating employment opportunities. However, there were concerns among stakeholders on the quality of education provided by PHEIs. The application of government regulatory frameworks was also found to be more stringent on PHEIs than on their counterparts in the public sector.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of cost sharing scheme in enhancing revenue generation in public higher education in Ethiopia in order to improve the quality of the teaching and learning environment. Furthermore, the study has attempted to assess problems/challenges experienced by students as well as other government bodies related to cost sharing scheme. To this effect, both quantitative and qualitative research approaches were used.

It is now a decade since Ethiopia started implementing a policy of poverty reduction and eradication. The government's poverty reduction and eradication program stresses the strategic importance of agriculture. The sector, however, is in the hands of millions of peasant producers who depend on traditional methods of cultivation of crops with limited use of green revolution technologies, such as chemical fertilizers.The current package-based agricultural extension service, like its predecessors, uses 'model' farmers to disseminate improved technologies. This group of farmers, because of their entrepreneurial qualities, is expected to positively influence other farmers to adopt improved farming technologies. This research focuses on the entrepreneurial experiences of 'model' farmers in the context of the current agricultural extension package program and their contribution to Ethiopia's poverty reduction efforts by taking the Bure Zuria woreda of the Amhara regional state as case study.

Under its program of land investments, the Ethiopian government has leased out huge tracts of land to domestic and foreign investors on terms that are highly favorable to both but particularly to foreign ones. Critical reports on the ìbonanzaî reaped by foreign capital have appeared in the world media and the websites of international activist organizations, and while some of these are based on questionable evidence, the global attention they have drawn may well be deserved given the image of the country as a land of poverty and hunger. This study, which is based on information gathered from field interviews as well as other sources, looks at the subject from a land rights perspective, with emphasis on the relations of power between small land-users and their communities on the one hand and the state on the other. At bottom what is at stake is the land and the resources on it, and what is being grabbed are rights that in most cases belong to peasant farmers, pastoralists and their communities. In the long run, the shift of agrarian system from small-scale to large-scale, foreign dominated production -which is what the investment program is now doing- will marginalize small producers, and cause immense damage to local ecosystems, wildlife habitats and biodiversity.

Araqe is a traditional home-distilled beverage that is made from an assortment of cereals such as wheat, sorghum and maize, and has a high level of ethanol. A ubiquitous feature of present day Ethiopian society, with the exception of the predominantly Muslim communities, Araqe is more than the alcoholic drink of choice for people living in rural and small towns. Thanks to its qualities of divisibility, long shelf-life, portability, and high unit value, it is also an important commodity that is produced by, traded between, and consumed in most rural and urban areas of the country. Its negative effects notwithstanding, it is a major object of exchange that ties cities to their rural hinterlands and with one another, thus becoming an important component of the social fabric of the society. It is an important social fact that cannot be dismissed as a fringe phenomenon. But in spite of the substantial amount of araqe that is distilled, traded, and consumed within the informal sector, and the important place it holds in the socioeconomic fabric of the society, no comprehensive study has to date been undertaken on its interrelated aspects at a national level. The general objective of this study is to assess and document the processes (origin, introduction and spread), patterns (arenas, manners), trends (currently evolving forms and future directions), as well as impacts (on environment, economy, social, health and security) of the production, marketing, and consumption of the homemade liquor, araqe, with the ultimate aim of indicating how and to what extent these factors contribute to economic development/stagnation and social cohesion/disruption in rural Ethiopia in particular as well as the country at large.

The last two decades have seen dramatic changes in Ethiopian higher education. System diversification, enrollment explosion, expansion in physical infrastructure, curricular overhaul and establishment of new types of institution - these are the areas of the most significant development in the sector. Nevertheless, it is the sharp decline in the quality of higher education that has been the subject of most concern for the academic community. Yet, very little public debate or research was conducted on this thorny issue, until the Forum for Social Studies (FSS), an independent think-tank in Ethiopia, took the initiative to organize a series of public discussion forums based on the outcome of its own studies on the subject. This bilingual volume (Amharic and English) presents six of the essays which are the results of the FSS initiative. They examine different aspects of quality such as pre-university academic competence of students, higher education quality assurance and accreditation system, curricular relevance, pedagogical training and workload of academic staff, and quality indicators of science education.

Following the removal of the Derg regime from power in 1991, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) swept to power with the promise of restoring peace, tackling the country's chronic poverty, and democratizing the political system. Among the social sectors, Education received the highest attention. The recognition of knowledge as a driving force of economic growth and social development has been evident in the Federal Government's subscription to the EFA and MDG initiatives and in its concerted efforts to reform the educational system. In March 2004, the Ministry set up a Higher Education Systems Overhaul Committee of Inquiry (referred to as the HESO Team) "to examine and analyze the leadership, governance and management of the higher education sector and to suggest ways that the higher education system should be overhauled to enable it to better meet the development needs of Ethiopia" (HESO 2004). The HESO Team's inquiry focused on issues of governance, management and leadership, but not much on academic freedom, nor did it indicate to what extent it is enjoyed by members of the academic community, or what specific reforms are needed to facilitate the full exercise of this fundamental right. Cognizant of this situation, the Forum for Social Studies (FSS) launched, in mid-2006, a research project titled "The Status of Governance, Academic Freedom, and Teaching Personnel in Ethiopian Higher Education". FSS took UNESCO's "Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel" as an international standard-making instrument that could serve as a benchmark for reviewing the situation prevailing in Ethiopian higher education institutions. Within this parameter, the main objective of the FSS research project was to identify the regulatory framework, institutional arrangements and established practices pertaining to governance, academic freedom and conditions of service of higher-education teaching personnel and assess these in terms of their compliance with the relevant principles and norms enshrined in the 1997 UNESCO Recommendation. Based on case studies of major higher education institutions, the project also sought to generate reliable and timely information that would enhance public awareness and facilitate informed policy intervention to improve the situation. A total of seven major public universities and four private colleges were selected for the institutional case studies. Altogether, over 555 teaching personnel and 2,110 students participated in the case studies and this publication presents the findings of all the case studies and three of the conference papers. The investigation in the case studies has sought to generate data on the perceptions of students regarding the exercise of academic freedom and the teaching-learning process, but this was mainly to provide a comparative perspective. The primary focus of the study has been on the status and perceptions of the teaching personnel.

Having just emerged from a prolonged civil war and faced with the urgent tasks of establishing political stability and reinvigorating an economy in tatters, the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (1991-1995) had to set a new direction for the economic reconstruction and social rehabilitation of the warn-torn and poverty-ridden country. During the Transitional Period a spate of new policies and strategies defining the development priorities, goals and implementation instruments of the new regime led by the EPRDF was introduced. This work is a synthesis of various sectoral policies and an attempt to trace the genesis of the policies, highlight the continuities, significant departures and other salient features. Each of the reviews in this digest briefly analyses the critical elements of the policies, identifies major gaps in the conceptualisation of the policy as well as the achievements registered and the challenges encountered in its implementation. The authors also try to identify the outstanding issues to be addressed by policymakers and suggest remedies. The policy reviews have been grouped into three parts and presented under social, economic and governance sectors.

This collection of essays is about the lives, ideas and modes of interaction of children in Ethiopia, against the background that in-depth knowledge of perceptions of cultural values and practices regarding children would contribute to improved work with them and to the promotion of their rights as children. The study is supported by Save the Children Sweden and Norway, and the essays are a collaboration between those bodies and the Department of Social Anthropology at Addis Ababa University. Some essays are based on Master theses from the Department, and others on fieldwork. Seminars and meetings formed part of the research with and about children. The editor provides a theoretical, methodological and ethical aspects overview, and makes proposals on possible new themes. The five other contributors cover Conceptualizations of Children and Childhood: The Case of Kolfe and Semen Mazegaja, Addis Ababa; Growing up in Town and in the Countryside in Amhara Society; Continuity and Change in the Lives or Urban and Rural Children: The Case of Two Schools in SNNPR; Conceptualizations of Children and Childhood in Bishoftu, Oromia; and Children in Ethiopian Media and School Textbooks.

The 1991 government change in Ethiopia ushered in a centralised system of governance, aimed to bring about harmony and cooperation between different groups and to promote local self-rule. It has proceeded in two phases: 1991-2001 centred on creating and powering National/Regional Governments, termed mid-level decentralisation. Further powers were devolved in 2001 through the District Level Decentralization Program and Urban Management Profram. This volume brings together studies by the Forum for Social Studies and others, with the aim of identifying knowledge gaps for further research and to generate debate on the issues in Ethiopia. The study is in two parts: a literature review seeking to document existing studies and highlight research gaps; and field work which involved a rapid assessment of eight weredas and two kifle ketemas in Addis Ababa. The other three studies are synopses of master theses submitted to the Institute of Regional and Local Development Studies of Addis Ababa University.

The Forum for Social Studies is an independent, non-profit institution engaged in policy-oriented research on the development challenges facing Ethiopia. Together with the Ethiopian Economic Association and the Agricultural Economics Society of Ethiopia, they organised a conference in 2005 from which the papers are collected in this volume. The main aims were twofold: to keep the debate on the land question alive, and to move the focus and scope of the debate if civil society and the public at large are to benefit from it. The land issue not only bears on a wide range of development and policy problems, but in a predominantly agrarian society such as Ethiopia, land is a critical asset and central to socio-economic development. Civil society is seeking to broaden the debate, which has hitherto been narrowly framed. The papers are organised in three parts: Access to Land and Agrarian Class Differentiation; Land Transaction; Natural Resource Management, Policy, and Economic Return. Eight papers are presented, including the welcome and opening statements and the conference programme.Dessalegn Rahmato won the 1999 Prince Claus Award in recognition of significant achievements in the field of research and development. He is a Senior Research Fellow at the Forum for Social Studies, and was formerly its Executive Director. He has published on land and agrarian issues, food security, environmental policy, and poverty in Wollaita. His current research is on civil society and democratisation.

In Ethiopia, pastoralists reside in semi-arid and arid lowlands. The long established multifaceted isolation compounded with negative effects of climate change, population growth and environmental degradation has severely undermined pastoral economic systems, livelihoods and food security. The poor integration of lowland and highland economic systems into the national economy has potentially hindered economic growth and livelihood diversification in pastoral systems. This study was, therefore, aimed at investigating and understanding the nature, scope and constraints of economic and market interactions between lowland and highland economic systems and the implications of the interactions for sustainable livelihoods of pastoralists. The study focused specifically on examining the profile of pastoralistsí economic engagements and their income contributions; exploring types and magnitude of product and service exchanges between lowland pastoralists and highland farmers and accessibility conditions of the major markets visited by pastoralists; assessing constraints to market interactions between lowland and highland communities; exploring the existing lowland pastoral and highland farming systems. The study has also attempted to draw implications of the lowland and highland economic interactions for mitigation of conflicts and pastoral economic growth.