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Use
of Sustainable Livelihoods Approaches
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This
report is the result of a research effort managed and coordinated
by CHF on behalf of the 15-member Canadian NGO Network in Ethiopia
(CANGO) to assess the factors that contribute to the vulnerability
and resilience of communities and households in rural Ethiopia.
The
study uses a demand-side, participatory and sustainable livelihoods
approach to provide insights on how best to promote self-resiliency
for the chronically food insecure at both household and community
levels based on research in five regions and five major livelihood
systems which include:
- Diversified
Peri-Urban Livelihood Systems
- Highland
Food Crop Dominant Livelihood Systems
- Lowland
Livestock Dominant Livelihood Systems
- Cereal
Crop and Livestock Mixed Livelihood Systems
- Cereal/Food
Crop and Cash Crop Livelihood Systems
The
benefit of the sustainable livelihoods framework is that it enables
assessment of the full range of productive assets available
to households and communities pursuing different livelihood strategies,
and accounts for the contextual environment within which
critical decisions are made.
The
sustainable livelihoods approach also allows the study to look beyond
the central issue of food security to achieve a deeper understanding
of the root causes of vulnerability and the role of social
capital in defining resilience. This is critically important
given the diversity of livelihood strategies employed in Ethiopia
and the challenges this presents to policy-makers and development
organisations alike.
As
a result, study provides guidance on how to improve the effectiveness
and complementarity of the Government of Ethiopia's Food
Security Programme, Productive Safety Net Programme and
NGO interventions by employing a sustainable livelihoods approach
to examine the layering and linkages needed to maximise the
benefits available from the various programs to the beneficiary
households and communities.
Finally,
the study sets out practical recommendations for use by development
practitioners in designing livelihood-specific programming interventions
aimed at enabling self-resilient communities. Recommendations include:
- Program
Investments Aimed at Promoting Household Self Resiliency
- Program
Investments Aimed at Promoting Community Self-Resiliency
- Invest
and diversify pastoral livelihoods
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