Generate Cash Income Research Articles

Urban Farming to Ensure Food Security and to Generate Cash Income During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Case Study in Bausasran Urban Village Indonesia

Urban Farming to Ensure Food Security and to Generate Cash Income During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Case Study in Bausasran Urban Village Indonesia

Farmers’ motivational factors for medicinal plant production in the southwestern region of Bangladesh

Medicinal plants (MPs) generate cash income and save millions of people in Bangladesh. The aim of this study is to identify farmers’ motivational factors to cultivate MPs. This study is based on primary data collected from 196 sample households from two MP-growing districts of Bangladesh. Three MPs, namely, Aloe vera, Bombax ceiba, and Withania somnifera, were considered for this study. Principal component analysis (PCA), the z test, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and factor analysis (FA) were used in this study. The results showed that household size and male-headed household status are driving socioeconomic factors. Ownership of water pumps, number of rooms in the house, access to contract marketing, and off-farm income are significant economic factors encouraging households to cultivate MPs. Farming experience, scientific knowledge, access to high land and access to loamy land are significant biophysical factors motivating farmers to cultivate MPs. More technical support and institutionalized contract marketing systems should be continued and established for the sustainability of MP cultivation.

Response of Various Intercrops on Growth and Yield Attributes of Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) under Irrigated Situation

Intercropping in cotton is one of the best approachs to improve the food security and soil fertility in addition to that of generating cash income of the rural poor. At present intercropping is common in conventional agriculture to augment the land use and also symbolic in reducing the weeds infestation. But, introducing superfluity population of intercrops without reducing the base crop population is of preeminence. Therefore field experiments were conducted at farmer’s field located at Erode District in Tamil Nadu, India (during 2018-2019) to investigate the compatible, remunerative and best smothering intercrops on the base crop, cotton. The experiment was outlayed in randomized block design with three replications. The treatment encompass of seven treatments viz., Cotton alone (Gossypium hirsutum L.), Cotton + Blackgram (Vigna mungo), Cotton + Greengram (Vigna radiata), Cotton + Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), Cotton + Coriander (Coriandrum sativum), Cotton + Onion (Allium cepa) and Cotton + Sesame (Sesamum indicum). The study clearly showed that among the treatments Cotton + Cowpea showed superior response in growth attributes like plant height (harvest stage) (153.23 cm), LAI -Leaf Area Index at 70 DAS (6.18), DMP – Dry Matter Production at harvest ( 6788.01 kg per ha) and yield attributes like number of Monopodial branches per plant (3.22), number of Sympodial branches per plant (19.62), number of squares per plant (48.83), number of bolls per plant (32.23), boll weight (3.98 g) and seed cotton yield (2455.70 t ha-1) and next in order was Cotton + Blackgram. The result evidently proved that Cotton + Cowpea will be an appropriate intercropping system for cotton and it was having considerable increase in growth and yield of cotton.

A social-ecological system approach to Bali cattle raising in Timor Island, Indonesia

Abstract. Firman A, Nono OH. 2021. A social-ecological system approach to Bali cattle raising in Timor Island, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 3585-3593. Cattle raising in East Nusa Tenggara play important role in the daily life of local people including to fulfill nutritional needs, to generate cash income, to develop social relationships, and to maintain religious activities. On the island of Timor, the type of cattle mostly kept by farmers is Bali cattle. This type of cattle perfectly suits the environmental and social conditions of the island. The purpose of this study was to investigate the interaction of social-ecological systems (SESs) and other systems that were able to maintain the sustainability of Bali cattle raising in Timor Island. All components in the system that interact with each other were studied through in-depth interviews with informants (15 cattle farmers, five community leaders, five cattle traders, and 10 staff of livestock services district and province levels). The results showed that the SESs approach could provide an explanation on the relationship between resource systems, resource units, governance systems, and users as well as systems that are outside SESs, namely the market and government policies, which altogether were able to improve Bali cattle raising sustainability. Farmers had an important role in Bali cattle raising and their habitat environment. Local and export markets played a role in providing value for Bali cattle raising. The local government maintained the balance of supply and demand for Bali cattle through the East Nusa Tenggara Governor Regulations No. 78 of 2019. Therefore, the research has succeeded in identification of feed resources in savanna and steppe and provide an opportunity to increase the cattle population on the island of Timor. The interaction between farmers and their environment has been well established, however, it is necessary to improve the quality of forage feed in grazing land.

Entrepreneurship Development of Rural Women through Value Added Dairy Products

The most important trend of development in agriculture is increasing diversification of rural economy. Contribution of agriculture sector to total GDP of state is 26 Percent. Whereas livestock sector is contributing around 38 percent of Agriculture GDP (at current prices). Today dairy enterprise is practiced by 70 million rural households in India. Milk products generate cash income to farmers almost on daily basis, unlike other crops. Clean milk production by adopting the appropriate practices is urgent need to boost dairy industry and to meet obligations under Food Safety and standard Act, 2006. In Haryana, livestock production is more of women oriented, so their production potential can be enhanced through technical know how and support. Keeping in mind the contribution of women, the present study was undertaken in Hisar district of Haryana. 50 rural women of self help groups of Mangali and Muklan Villages (25 each) were selected purposively who were member of self help group from last one year, having need and interest in dairy farming and having at least two milch animals. A well planned five days training at CCSHAU Hisar, visit to dairy co-operatives, kit of mineral mixture and literature was provided to the participants. Knowledge gap reduction was found highest for paneer preparation 87.81 percent. For all three components, training effectiveness index ranged between 74.28% to 94.66% which shows that trainees perceived the intervention very useful and well covered. Overall training effectiveness index was 80.94 %. Highest perceived feasibility Index was found for Cultural compatibility (97.33%), followed by Physical compatibility practicability (93.33), Low initial cost (90.66%), Trial ability (88.00%) and Visibility of results (86.66%). Lowest perceived feasibility index was found for Cognitive simplicity 54.66 percent.

PERSONAL BUSINESS ASSETS AND THEIR USE

The article collects analytical information about the nature and characteristics of profitable use of personal business assets. There are a number of options for earning extra income outside of job spend and outside of your regular job. The article defines the concept and outlined types of personal business assets, considers examples and ways to use them, pays attention to the peculiarities of investing in personal assets for profit. Personal business assets are personally owned resources that can potentially generate income. The significant difference between income from job and income from personal assets is that the personal asset brings income with minimal or even no direct labour participation of the owner of the asset. Personal business assets are essentially the same resources that can perform some function to generate cash income. Personal cash savings that are kept at home are not a personal business asset. This money, in addition to not generating income, also reduces its value almost daily due to inflation. From a business point of view, the concept of assets and liabilities is fundamental to achieving financial well-being. The article uses the ideas and suggestions of the American businessman Robert Toru Kiyosaki because he is considered one of the modern well-known theorists on business assets. Almost everything can be a personal business asset: movable and immovable property that can be rented for other people; enterprise as a passive business; internet sites that generate revenue from conversions; securities, deposit accounts that generate income in the form of interest; licenses and intellectual property rights under which the owner receives payments for use (royalties) or sells the license in full; receiving income from foreign exchange transactions in the Forex market. Investments in real assets can serve as a way to save equity. Most often, investments are made in gold or real estate, which will save money from inflation for a long time and can bring in rental income, as well as collectibles, but here it is important to know in this area and understand how profitable the investment is.

Production Systems and Breeding Practices of Arab and Oromo Goat Keepers in Benishangul Gumuz Region, Northwestern Ethiopia: Implications for the Development of Community-based Breeding Programs

To better understand and describe the production systems and breeding practices of Arab and Oromo goat keepers, we undertook a household survey in semi-arid and sub-humid parts of Benishangul Gumuz region, Northwestern Ethiopia. Multi-stage random and probability proportional to size sampling techniques were employed to select peasant associations and households, respectively.Data were collected from 249 goat keeping households (86 in semi-arid and 163 in sub-humid areas) through personal observations, focus group discussions and structured questionnaires, and analyzed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics and indices were used to present the data. In both areas, goats were kept mainly to generate cash income followed by meat production and saving with overall indices of 0.40, 0.23 and 0.17, respectively. The average ± SD of flock sizes per households were 12.5 ± 4.0 in Arab goat keepers and 9.9 ± 3.8 in Oromo. The mean numbers of does, doe kids, bucks, kids and castrates were significantly higher in Arab goat keepers as compared to Oromo. Body size, twining ability and coat color were the most preferred attributes of both goat keepers in selecting breeding does while breeding bucks were selected based on their body conformation, growth and coat color. Mating was predominantly uncontrolled mainly due to communal grazing lands. Castration of bucks was significantly (p < 0.01) more frequent in Arab goat keepers than Oromo. The average age at first kidding, kidding interval, reproductive lifetime and number of kids born per lifetime of Arab does were 13.9 ± 1.7 months, 7.2 ± 1.8 months, 7.2 ± 2.0 years and 10.7 ± 2.5, respectively. The corresponding values for Oromo does were 14.9 ± 2.4 months, 7.8 ± 1.1 months, 7.9 ± 1.9 years and 9.7 ± 1.6. The difference between Arab and Oromo goat keepers in terms of production objectives, flock sizes, trait preferences and breeding practices should be carefully considered in the development of breed improvement programs in the study areas. Keywords: Arab goat, Breeding practice, Oromo goat, Production system, Traits DOI : 10.7176/ALST/73-03 Publication date : April 30 th 2019

Production Systems and Breeding Practices of Arab and Oromo Goat Keepers in Benishangul Gumuz Region, Northwestern Ethiopia: Implications for the Development of Community-based Breeding Programs

To better understand and describe the production systems and breeding practices of Arab and Oromo goat keepers, we undertook a household survey in semi-arid and sub-humid parts of Benishangul Gumuz region, Northwestern Ethiopia. Multi-stage random and probability proportional to size sampling techniques were employed to select peasant associations and households, respectively. Data were collected from 249 goat keeping households (86 in semi-arid and 163 in sub-humid areas) through personal observations, focus group discussions and structured questionnaires, and analyzed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics and indices were used to present the data. In both areas, goats were kept mainly to generate cash income followed by meat production and saving with overall indices of 0.40, 0.23 and 0.17, respectively. The average ± SD of flock sizes per households were 12.5 ± 4.0 in Arab goat keepers and 9.9 ± 3.8 in Oromo. The mean numbers of does, doe kids, bucks, kids and castrates were significantly higher in Arab goat keepers as compared to Oromo. Body size, twining ability and coat color were the most preferred attributes of both goat keepers in selecting breeding does while breeding bucks were selected based on their body conformation, growth and coat color. Mating was predominantly uncontrolled mainly due to communal grazing lands. Castration of bucks was significantly (p < 0.01) more frequent in Arab goat keepers than Oromo. The average age at first kidding, kidding interval, reproductive lifetime and number of kids born per lifetime of Arab does were 13.9 ± 1.7 months, 7.2 ± 1.8 months, 7.2 ± 2.0 years and 10.7 ± 2.5, respectively. The corresponding values for Oromo does were 14.9 ± 2.4 months, 7.8 ± 1.1 months, 7.9 ± 1.9 years and 9.7 ± 1.6. The difference between Arab and Oromo goat keepers in terms of production objectives, flock sizes, trait preferences and breeding practices should be carefully considered in the development of breed improvement programs in the study areas. Keywords: Arab goat, Breeding practice, Oromo goat, Production system, Traits DOI : 10.7176/CEIS/10-4-03 Publication date :May 31 st 2019

Determinants of the production and commercial values of Eucalyptus woodlot products in Wogera District, Northern Ethiopia

BackgroundGrowing and planting of Eucalypts tree at a farm level in the form of woodlot has become a common practice among Ethiopian rural households. Currently, Ethiopian smallholder farmers mainly establish Eucalypts woodlot as a part of livelihood portfolio for meeting both household wood consumption and generating cash income. However, empirical evidence is lacking on the extent of households motivation in Eucalyptus woodlot production and factors influencing commercial values of its products. Consequently, this study investigated the factors influencing commercial value of Eucalyptus woodlot products in Wogera district.MethodsPrimary data were collected from 120 randomly selected Eucalyptus producer households through pre-tested questionnaires. Multiple linear regression analysis was employed to determine the significant variables affecting commercial values of Eucalyptus products in the study area.ResultsThe result of the study revealed that different types of local Eucalyptus woodlot products such as pole, worage, mager, split wood and bundle of firewood were produced and used both for households’ consumption and commercial purpose. Moreover, the OLS model result indicated that age (p < 0.1), wealth status (p < 0.1) and woodlot size of households (p < 0.01) positively and significantly determine the commercial value of Eucalyptus woodlot products. While, access to credit service and experience are significant but with negative influence on the commercial values of woodlot products at 5% levels of significance.ConclusionGenerally, production and marketing of Eucalyptus wood products play a significant poverty alleviation role as a source of regular income, local medicine, firewood, fence and construction materials in turn improving the livelihoods of the rural community in Ethiopia. Based on the findings, providing capacity-building training to strength producer’s credit usage on Eucalyptus Woodlot production system should be advisable. Moreover, the stakeholder should establish wood industry to enhance the income generation capacity of Eucalyptus for producers and traders. Finally, to reduce the conflict between crop producers and Eucalyptus producers, cluster planting are advisable.

Factors affecting the technical efficiency of turmeric farmers in the slash and burn areas of Bangladesh

Turmeric farming in slash and burn areas of Bangladesh plays an important role for generating cash income. This paper estimates technical efficiency of turmeric farmers in the slash and burn areas of Bangladesh and identifies sources of inefficiency using survey data obtained from 150 farmers over 6 villages throughout 2014/2015 growing season. Turmeric farming displayed much variability in technical efficiency ranging from 18 to 96% with mean technical efficiency of 84%, which suggested a substantial 16% of potential output of turmeric can be recovered by removing inefficiency. Besides improving technical efficiency, potential also exists for raising turmeric production through intensive training and extension services. For a land scarce country like Bangladesh this gain could help increase income and ensure better livelihood for the hilly farmers. The key policy implication of the analysis is that investment in training and extension service would greatly improve technical efficiency.

Determinants of Potato Marketed Surplus Among Smallholder Farmers in Sekela District, West Gojjam Zone of Amhara Region, Ethiopia

For Sekela Woreda smallholder potato producers, potato has significant contribution for consumption at home which increase food security and in generating cash income. Therefore, enhancing potato producers’ access to market and linking them to most beneficial outlets is a key issue needed in the study area. This paper was aimed to identify factors affecting marketed surplus potato farmers using survey data collected from randomly selected 130 farmers from six kebeles were randomly and proportionately sampled to collect both secondary and primary sources. Descriptive statistics was used for characterizing farmers and econometrics analysis was used for identifying determinants of marketed surplus. The result of econometric analysis from OLS marketed surplus model revealed that distance to the nearest market, use of improved seed, frequency of extension contact, area of land allocated for potato and yield of potato significantly determined quantity of potato supplied to the market. Based on the finding the government and other stakeholders need to focus on strengthening improved seed access, strengthening rural-urban infrastructure, expanding market access, improving land management practices and yield through strengthening extension service in order to accelerate market chain development. Keywords: Marketed surplus, Potato, Multiple linear regression DOI : 10.7176/FSQM/83-06

Determinants of Potato Marketed Surplus among Smallholder Farmers in Sekela District, West Gojjam Zone of Amhara Region, Ethiopia

For Sekela Woreda smallholder potato producers, potato has significant contribution for consumption at home which increase food security and in generating cash income. Therefore, enhancing potato producers’ access to market and linking them to most beneficial outlets is a key issue needed in the study area. This paper was aimed to identify factors affecting marketed surplus potato farmers using survey data collected from randomly selected 130 farmers from six kebeles were randomly and proportionately sampled to collect both secondary and primary sources. Descriptive statistics was used for characterizing farmers and econometrics analysis was used for identifying determinants of marketed surplus. The result of econometric analysis from OLS marketed surplus model revealed that distance to the nearest market, use of improved seed, frequency of extension contact, area of land allocated for potato and yield of potato significantly determined quantity of potato supplied to the market. Based on the finding the government and other stakeholders need to focus on strengthening improved seed access, strengthening rural-urban infrastructure, expanding market access, improving land management practices and yield through strengthening extension service in order to accelerate market chain development. Keywords: Marketed surplus, Potato, Multiple linear regression DOI : 10.7176/FSQM/83-06

Yartsagunbu: transforming people's livelihoods in the Western Himalaya

AbstractRural communities in developing countries extract provisioning ecosystem services from the natural environment to meet their subsistence needs, generate cash income and create employment opportunities. Caterpillar fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis, known as yartsagunbu in Tibet and in the literature on this subject, is a medicinal resource extracted by the mountain communities of the Himalaya. Studies of the contribution of the fungus to local livelihoods in the Indian Himalaya are scarce. We investigated trade and harvest and analysed the contribution of caterpillar fungus to household economies in 32 villages in Dhauliganga Valley, Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, in the Western Himalaya. Caterpillar fungus harvesting has become an integral part of local livelihoods in the study area, and on average contributes c. 74% of household cash income. The majority of harvesters perceived that harvesting had become more difficult during 2010–2015 as a result of competition and a decline in abundance of the species. The mean annual per capita harvest declined by 54 pieces during 2011–2015. Increasing harvesting and trade, coupled with the dependency of local communities on the fungus, may result in greater extraction of the resource for short-term economic benefits, and could eventually lead to depletion and ecological damage. Harvesting of the fungus has already created environmental, legal and social challenges, although it has become a lucrative livelihood opportunity. The ongoing decline of the fungus threatens local livelihoods. Good governance and livelihood security should be integrated with biodiversity conservation when devising government policies and plans for sustainable management of the caterpillar fungus.

Empirically based analysis of households coping with unexpected shocks in the central Himalayas

ABSTRACTClimate change may significantly impact the large number of households in developing countries depending on agricultural production, not least through changes in the frequency and/or magnitude of climatic hazards resulting in household income shocks. This paper analyses rural households’ responses to past experiences of and future expectations to substantial and unexpected negative and positive agricultural income shocks. Empirical data is derived from an environmentally-augmented structured household (n = 112) survey in the high mountains of central Nepal. Multinomial logit regression, using data on rural household demographics, assets (agricultural land, livestock), value of other assets such as furniture, bicycles, and agricultural implements, and income sources showed that household coping choices are determined by opportunities to generate cash. We argue that public policies should enhance the ability of rural household to generate cash income, including through environmental products.

Challenges and Opportunities of Small Scale Poultry Production System in Jigjiga Zone, Somali Regional State, Ethiopia

Background: Small scale Poultry production are used by farmers in order to generate cash income and as a source of food for domestic consumption however, the production sector is constrained by disease, predators, poor housing, poor management, lack of feed, low market prices and lack of markets. This study aimed to identify challenge and opportunities available for small scale poultry production in Jigjiga zone of Somali regional state. Methodology: For the study three districts, namely Jigjiga, Babile and Awbare were selected by purposive sampling technique. From the selected districts A total of 94 (Jigjiga = 35, babile = 32 and Awbare = 27) the respondents were selected purposively who engaged in poultry production and primary data were collected by using semi-structured questionnaires. Results: The major poultry production system practiced in the study area was village poultry production system (93.3%) and according to this study poultry is kept mainly for home consumption (42.2%), income generation (48.5%) and cultural prestige (26.6%). In the study area the dominant chicken breed was indigenous ecotype (67.6%). As indicated in the current study the demand for poultry and poultry product was very high and this is might be due to the problem in supply of poultry and its products. Sharing the same room under the same roof with the family (14.6%), different shelter in the same roof (36.6%) and separate house were the common poultry housing system practiced in the Jigjiga and surrounding area. Incubation and brooding were the other poultry management practiced in the area in which clay pot with bedding (64.4%) and clay pot without bedding (33.3%) were used for incubation and brooding. Before sale and set for incubation eggs were stored in cold environment (63.5%), in cold container (32.6%) and anywhere (41.1%). Disease (41.1%), shortage of feed (33.5%), and predators (20.7%) were the major constraints affecting poultry production and its productivities and higher demand for poultry and its product is the future opportunity for the development of poultry sector in the area. As the dominant production system was village poultry production scavenging feeding system in which supplementation twice (morning and evening) with maize or sorghum grain were practiced in the area. Conclusion: from this study, it can be concluded that expansion of veterinary service, and extension package for intervention to improve the productivity and economics contribution of poultry should also be designed in collaboration with NGO and Regional government.

Local people\u2019s knowledge on the adverse impacts and their attitudes towards growing Eucalyptus woodlot in Gudo Beret Kebele, Basona Worena district, Ethiopia

IntroductionGrowing Eucalyptus at a farm level in the form of woodlot has become popular among rural households in Ethiopia. For example, rural households mainly establish Eucalyptus woodlot as a component of livelihood improvement and diversification to meet household wood demand and generating cash income. However, there is lack of information on the growth parmeters of Eucalyptus woodlot and the factors influencing the household decision on their establishment at the individual farmland level. The objective of this study was to examine local people’s knowledge on the adverse impacts and their attitudes towards growing Eucalyptus woodlot in Gudo Beret Kebele. We hypothesized that local people’s knowledge on the adverse impacts and their attitudes towards growing Eucalyptus woodlot in Gudo Beret Kebele is affected by socioeconomic and cognitive variables.MethodsA structured questionnaire comprising closed- and open-ended questions was developed and administered to a total of n = 94 households to collect information on local people’s knowledge on the adverse impacts and their attitudes towards growing Eucalyptus woodlot. The households were randomly selected through a lottery system based on their house identification numbers. Descriptive statistics, binary logit, and multiple linear regression were used to analyze and interpret the data.ResultsThe results revealed that about 92% of the respondents noted that growing Eucalyptus woodlot had positive impacts on the socioeconomic situation of the community considering that it contributes to economic benefits through the sale of wood products, such as poles, construction materials, and fuelwood. However, only 8% of the respondents noted that the negative impacts of Eucalyptus woodlot were attributed to the decline in crop and forage production due to its allelopatic effect, and the reduction in ground water availability. Majority of the respondents (about 68%) preferred to grow Eucalyptus woodlot in Gudo Beret Kebele. Thus, most of the respondents (about 69%) had strongly agreed to have a positive attitude towards growing Eucalyptus woodlot. On the other hand, the binary logit regression model explained about 70.6% of the variance of local people’s knowledge on the adverse impacts of Eucalyptus woodlot. Overall, the multiple linear regression model revealed that socioeconomic and cognitive variables had significant effect on local people’s attitudes towards growing Eucalyptus woodlot (39.5% variance explained).ConclusionsWe recommended that foresters, natural resource experts and managers, environmentalists, land use planners, and policy-makers should take the right and careful decision by assessing the overall socioeconomic and ecological aspects of Eucalyptus woodlot based on the interests of various stakeholders including local communities.

The Transition Away From Swidden Agriculture and Trends in Biomass Accumulation in Fallow Forests: Case Studies in the Southern Chin Hills of Myanmar

Swidden farmers are rapidly transitioning to other types of land use. This study was conducted in 2 villages (T village and P village) in southern Chin State, Myanmar. The number of swidden-cultivating households decreased by 50% in T village over 2003–2013, and varied over 2004–2013 in P village; 21% and 13% of the total population in T and P villages, respectively, have out-migrated for employment. In addition, the introduction of terrace farming, development of animal husbandry, marketing of non-timber forest products, and other activities that generate cash income have reduced dependency on swidden agriculture. Remittances from out-migrated family members also contribute significantly to household incomes. As a result, the area devoted to swidden agriculture has decreased. By establishing site-specific allometries and applying best-fit allometry coefficients, total aboveground biomass was estimated for both villages. Generally, the aboveground biomass increased with the age of the fallow. Out-migratio...

‘Hanging by Rubber’: How Cash Threatens the Agricultural Systems of the Siang Dayak

An unprecedented increase in industrial activity, particularly coal mining, is transforming Murung Raya Regency in Central Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. New opportunities to participate in the market economy are enticing many people in the area to move away from subsistence horticulture and towards generating cash income through various means, particularly the trade in rubber. The move away from subsistence horticulture, which is performed collectively, towards rubber tapping, which is done individually, alters social exchange relationships. This article examines the way in which integration with the market economy leads to the increasing dominance of individual modes of being over collective, and the constraints on both. The way in which these shifts threaten food security is also considered. The situation of the Siang of Murung Raya is contrasted with the Kantu’ of West Kalimantan.

ENERGY CROPS FOR BIO FUEL AND FOOD SECURITY

In light of the recent rise in global food p rices, much of the publications on crop - based biofuel production focus on the potential impacts on food security. The bio fuels include bio ethanol, bio butanol, biodiesel, vegetable oils, bio methanol, pyrolysis oils, biogas, and bio hydrogen. There are two global biomass based liquid t ransportation fuels that might replace gasoline and diesel fuel. These are bioethanol and biodiesel. About 60 % of global bioethanol production comes from sugarcane and 40 % from other crops. The central policy of biofuel concerns job creation, greater eff iciency in t he general business environment and protection of the environment. The use of biofuels decreases the external energy dependence, promotion of regional engineering, increased R and D, decrease in impact of electricity production and transformati on; increases the level of services for the rural population, creation of employment, etc. There is considerable controversy about the impact of biofuels on food security in developing countries. A major concern is that biofu els reduce food security by inc reasing food prices. In this paper we use survey evidence to assess the impact of castor production on poor and food insecure rural households in Ethiopia. About 1/3 of poor farmers have allocated on average 15 % of their land to the production of castor b eans under contract in biofuel supply chains. Castor production significantly improves their food security: they have fewer months without food and the amount of food they consum e increases. Castor cultivation is beneficial for participating households’ fo od security in several ways: by generating cash income from castor contracts, they can store food for the lean season; castor beans preserve well on the field which allows sales when farmers are in need of cash (or food); spillover effe cts of castor contra cts increases the productivity of food crops. Increased food crop productivity offsets the amount of land used for castor so that the total loc al food supply is not affected.

Biofuels and food security: Micro-evidence from Ethiopia

There is considerable controversy about the impact of biofuels on food security in developing countries. A major concern is that biofuels reduce food security by increasing food prices. In this paper we use survey evidence to assess the impact of castor production on poor and food insecure rural households in Ethiopia. About 1/3 of poor farmers have allocated on average 15% of their land to the production of castor beans under contract in biofuel supply chains. Castor production significantly improves their food security: they have fewer months without food and the amount of food they consume increases. Castor cultivation is beneficial for participating households’ food security in several ways: by generating cash income from castor contracts, they can store food for the lean season; castor beans preserve well on the field which allows sales when farmers are in need of cash (or food); spillover effects of castor contracts increases the productivity of food crops. Increased food crop productivity offsets the amount of land used for castor so that the total local food supply is not affected.