The RAISE-FS project conducted a baseline survey in its intervention areas in the three regions. The major objective of the survey was to collect information on the outcome areas of the project so as to provide an information base against which to monitor and assess the project progress.
Methodology
Multistage sampling approach was followed to identify sample respondents with probability and non-probability sampling techniques. In the first stage, sample 18 kebeles were selected from the nine RAISE FS intervention woredas in Amhara, Oromia, SNNPR and Sidama purposively and 924 sample households were selected randomly from the list of households prepared at kebele level with a proportion of 25% youth (50% male, 50% Female), 75% adults. Among the interviewed adults 30% were female headed household (FHH), 20% were married women from male headed households and the remaining were male headed households.
The baseline data collected focused on household demography, agronomic practices, productivity of crops, irrigation practice, storage practices, home gardening, households’ productive capital and women and youth decision makingon production and income generating activities, farmers’ access to services, group membership, food security, Food Consumption Score (FCS), Individual Quality Dietary Diversity (QDD), and time allocation for different activities for analysis of women and men workload. A summary of findings is presented below.
Study area
A sample of three woredas are selected from each region and one woreda for each food system. These are:
- Angot (food insecure), Yilmana Densa (high potential), and West Armacho (commercial) in Amhara
- Boloso Bombe (food insecureGumer (high potential) and Hawassa Zuria (commercial) in SNNPR+ Sidama
- Babile (food insecure), Wolmera (high potential), and Ada’a (commercial), in Oromia
Women Empowerment in Agriculture Index
The survey employed the Women Empowerment in Agriculture Index which is a survey-based index designed to measure the empowerment, agency, and inclusion of women in the agricultural sector, to measure the empowerment of women in agriculture in the intervention area. This tool seeks to identify obstacles and constraints that prevent women from fully participating in agricultural activities and can be used to track gender equality and measure empowerment, agency, and women’s inclusion in the agricultural sector. To measure the empowerment of women in agriculture the survey employed the individual level computed five domains of empowerment in agriculture. production, resource, income, leadership and time use (5DE).
The esults for 5DE in the study areas showed that 20.1 percent of women are empowered. Among the 79.9 percent of women who are not yet empowered have, on average, they have inadequate achievements in 26.2 percent of domains.
Indicators of domains that contribute most to youth disempowerment in the study areas are weak decisions on control over use of income (20 %), have less inputs on production decisions (19 %), weak leadership and influence in the community (18 % and 10 % respectively).
Food and nutrition
Among surveyed households in the implementation area respectively 91%, 65% and 70% of the respondents from Amhara, Oromia and SNNP/Sidama consumed less than four recommended food groups for quality dietary diversity within a day. There were regional differences in the percentage of women that achieved the minimum dietary diversity (>= 5); 1.6%, 14.8%, and 13.0% respectively from Amhara, Oromia, and SNNP/Sidama. There were minimal differences in dietary diversity scores between regions and also between male and female respondents.
Access to finance and type of financial institutions.
Most of the households were able to get and borrow in cash and/in kind from friends and relatives implying that informal finance sources are more accessible than formal sources. In all regions FHH households have less access to finance compared to their male counterparts.
Improved farming practices
Most households had limited experience with improved agronomic practices. Intercropping is more common in SNNP and less practiced in Amhara region. Though commonly farmers rotate cereals after cereal, , a practice which is common in Oromia (77%) and Amhara (71%) region. FHH in the study areas practice of improved agricultural practices less than their male counterparts.
RAISE-FS 