No abstract

Cultivation of rice in Ethiopia is a recent phenomenon and the crop provides advantages to rice farmers in regarding productivity basis compared to other cereal crops and contribute a lot towards ensuring food security in the country. With the advantage related to the higher productivity, the ever-increasing of domestic demand as a result of urbanization and population growth, rice production under smallholder farmers is expanding very fast. The study was designed to determine the cost of production and profitability of rice under smallholder farmers in the rain fed upland production ecosystem. Descriptive statistics and enterprise budget were used to analyze data collected from selected farmers. Descriptive analysis result reveals labor cost was the main cost item in rice production which took about 74% of the total variable cost, of which weeding cost took about 37%. The enterprise budget analysis reveals sampled farmers obtained gross margin of ETB 12,084.46 per hectare from rain fed upland rice production with benefit cost ratio of 1.44 and break even price and yield of 6.45 ETB per kg and 2157 kilogram per hectare, respectively and the gross margin was more sensitive for price and yield fluctuations. Thus, upland rice production is a profitable enterprise. Moreover, in order to make the enterprise more attractive, it is important to promote productivity-improving and labor-saving modern technologies and strengthen the market information delivery system and collective action by farmers.

Rice was considered a minor crop in Ethiopia, rarely consumed by many households in Sub-Saharan Africa. In recent decades, however, it has become the most rapidly growing staple food source in the country. This paper presents an historical analysis of rice commercialisation and the observed agrarian changes that have resulted from its introduction and spread in Ethiopia. The paper analyses the role of the state, private actors and development partners in promoting improvements in rice production and value chain upgrading, as well as examines the impacts of small-scale commercialisation on local livelihoods and rural economies.

This report presents an assessment of the changes in effects of COVID-19 on agricultural commercialisation, food and nutrition security, labour and employment, and poverty and well-being in rural Ethiopia by comparing the results of a baseline household survey (R1) in late June 2020 with a follow-up survey (R2) in late October 2020. Data was collected from a stratified random sample of 106 smallholder rice farmer households (24 female and 82 male-headed) in five kebeles (villages) in the Fogera Plain area of Amhara Region. Data was also collected through 25 key informant interviews conducted in the kebeles.

With the expansion of rice production in Ethiopia’s Fogera Plain, the rural labour market, highly characterised by the casual unskilled labour supply, has flourished. This is mainly associated with the nature of rice production, where certain agronomic practices demand a significant investment of time and thus family labour may not be sufficient. This has created an opportunity for rice farmers to hire labour when they need for extra help, and also for unskilled labourers to gain casual employment. This paper explores the characteristics of rural labour markets, trends in hired labour use and the impact of hired labour on smallholder farmers’ rice productivity and commercialisation using data collected from 723 randomly selected smallholder rice farmers in the Fogera Plain.