CROP ATTRIBUTES, FARM DECISIONS CROP SPECIFIC POLICIES IN THE CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABILITY OF PRODUCTION IN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Ethiopia’s government has created a number of policies and programs to address the urgent issue of rising food prices. Extension and regulation initiatives aiming at influencing the production and marketing are frequently used in conjunction with them. However, lack of indices on relative importance of individual crops results poor policy outcomes. Analyzing household decision dynamics and how household decisions respond to policies is crucial to reduce persistent complaints from recipients and avoid negative policy outcomes. For this study, data from 392 randomly chosen households of Kewot woreda was used. Sorghum found with higher calorie index per profit while mung bean was found higher profit index. Crop diversification found inefficient that arise from profitability differences and return to scale. Additionally multiple objectives could be met using tradeoffs among different crop benefits. This study also summarizes major findings from previous crop-related policies and linked them to specific crop characteristics. It is advised that policies be adjusted to reflect the value, character, and utility of crops.