Abstract
BackgroundWhile 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.MethodsPrimary 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 conclusionsResults 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.
Highlights
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
Sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA) widely experienced food security challenge is mainly attributed to the poor performance of its agricultural sector [6]
The study reveals that about 48.45% and 59.64% of apple and mango households, respectively, participated in the fruit value chain. This shows that participants and non-participants are systematically different
Summary
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. In SSA, agricultural value chains are currently undergoing a rapid transformation driven by urbanization, dietary changes, technological changes, rising incomes, and expansion of food markets, among other underlying trends [12]. This increasing dynamism and transformation of agri-food systems offer farmers the opportunity to produce and sell high-value products, translating their vertically coordinated relationships into premium prices and letting them capture a bigger share of the price paid by final consumers [13]. There is evidence in Ethiopia, as is elsewhere in SSA, increased access and participation of smallholders in cash-crop markets (e.g., fruits) present opportunities to improve their productivity, income, and food security [14]
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