Policy Briefs

2021

Understanding the link between the Productive Safety Net Program and agrobiodiversity cultivation in Ethiopia with M. Kozicka, T. Pagnani, F. Caracciolo and E. Gotor

Available here

Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) and agrobiodiversity are two of the crucial pillars of resilience in Ethiopia. Yet the impact of the PSNP on agrobiodiversity is not yet well understood, and synergies and trade-offs between them are still largely unexplored. This study shows that the net impact of the Ethiopian PSNP is negative on indices of agrobiodiversity and on indicators of on-farm labor time. This indicates that the extra income received by beneficiaries from participation in the PSNP acts as a disincentive for further improvements towards farm diversification of participating farmers. The findings of this study call for a re-valorization of the PSNP, particularly in light of the newly initiated Phase 5 of the program. PSNP5 should bring more focus on strengthening the long-term resilience of the participants, shifting the attention towards on-farm investments, especially in the form of higher agrobiodiversity cultivation.