Heliyon (Feb 2024)
The contribution of productive safety net program for households food security and asset building in drought prone woredas of northeast Ethiopia
Abstract
Many developing countries are using various forms of social protection strategies to combat food insecurity. The Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) is a major policy initiative launched by the Ethiopian government and partners to help millions of chronically food insecured rural people. The main objective of this research is to assess the contributions of PSNP to households’ food security and asset building in the selected drought prone woreda (district) of northeast Ethiopia. The research applied a cross sectional research design and a mixed research approach. The data was collected from 142 randomly selected household heads of three selected Kebeles (a small administrative unit) clustered into three agro-climatic zones of the woreda, using key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and document reviews. The methods used in the analysis were descriptive statistics (percentage and mean) and inferential statistics (chi-square, t-test, and binary logistic regression model). Twelve variables were selected to explain factors affecting the food security level of the PSNP beneficiary households. Out of these nine variables were identified as significant. The result revealed that the sample households that joined the PSNP have improved in food consumption status, livestock holding, housing conditions, and agricultural input utilization. The binary regression model depicted that household age, household size, education, farmland size, agricultural inputs and livestock as the main determinants. The result also revealed a lack of community participation in the decision-making, payment delays, a low level of gender awareness, and poor planning processes as the main challenges. Therefore, improving the management, revising the strategies particularly; the tools, guidelines and manuals of the PSNP is essential for best performance to address the food security challenges in general and the beneficiaries in particular.
