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Background While it has identified that linking smallholders in the agri-food value chain remains to be a promising strategy to get out of the poverty trap in many developing countries, less is known about the food security implications of smallholders’ participation in the fruits value chain. This paper examines the effects of apple and mango smallholder farmers’ participation along the value chain, focusing on their household food security in north-western Ethiopia. Methods Primary data for the study were obtained from a random sample of 384 households, 211 of which are fruit value chain participants, and the remainder are non-participants. The study used the propensity score matching (PSM) method to establish a causal relationship between the participation of the fruit value chain and changes in household food security. Results and conclusions Results indicate that participation in the apple and mango value chain has a robust and positive effect on the food security of smallholders as measured by household food consumption in kilocalorie. The unconfoundedness and overlapping assumptions were fulfilled by applying the nearest neighbor and kernel-based matching algorithms. The study confirms that the more apple and mango farmers join the value chain, the higher their household food intake becomes. Support for fruit farmers is, therefore, a promising policy approach that can help improve household food security in rural Ethiopia.

Background In Ethiopia, fruits pose a significant production and marketing challenge for farm households that significantly affect their farm profitability due to their perishability and unpredictable seasonal pricing. For instance, seasonally, market prices vary depending on the quality and quantity of fruit products available on the market. Stemming from this logical ground, this study is initiated with the objective of characterizing production systems and market performance of fruits in Ethiopia, focusing on apple and mango crops. Methods A random sampling approach was used for producers and snowball sampling for traders when selecting survey participants. A pre-tested survey questionnaire was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics and market margins were used for statistical analysis. Results Post-harvest wastage is preventing farmers from receiving anticipated revenue, implying that approximately 31.8 and 26.1% of the total mango and apple produce was lost, respectively. According to the survey results, there was no measurement consistency among farmers, local collectors, and small retailers. District level collectors received a higher margin share (42.66 and 40.18% of apple and mango, respectively) than other actors in the chain, which was unjustified given their contribution to the market chain. Farmers were comparatively hampered by the market since they earned the lowest share (33.34 and 15.08% of apple and mango, respectively) of consumer prices indicating that the apple and mango market chain performance is poor. As a consequence, these all deter farmers from producing in large quantities, quality, and also uncertainty (fair failure in the mind of farmers) in the marketing of apples and mangoes. Conclusions The awareness of small-scale farmers about most of the agronomic practices including insect pests and diseases were very low. Hence, this study recommended that there is an urgent need from district agricultural offices to improve mango and apple production and marketing systems in the study districts.