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Weather Risk and Household Participation in Off-farm Activities in Rural Ethiopia

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  • Demeke, Abera Birhanu
  • Zeller, Manfred

Abstract

This study examines the effects of weather shock on households’ decision to engage in different types of off-farm work in rural Ethiopia. A multinomial logit model is applied to household data collected in 1999 and 2004. The regression results show that the level and variability of rainfall has a significant effect on the decision by households to engage in any type of off-farm work. The probability of a household deciding to participate in low-return, off-farm activities increases with lower levels and higher variability of rainfall, suggesting that households engage in those activities as a strategy for coping with adverse weather shock. Contrary to this, we find that participation in high-return activities increases with the level of rainfall and tends to decrease with rainfall variability, suggesting a strong correlation between off-farm activities and agricultural production.

Suggested Citation

  • Demeke, Abera Birhanu & Zeller, Manfred, 2012. "Weather Risk and Household Participation in Off-farm Activities in Rural Ethiopia," Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture, Humboldt-Universitaat zu Berlin, vol. 51(1), pages 1-20, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:qjiage:155470
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.155470
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    2. Elmallakh, Nelly & Wodon, Quentin, 2021. "Climate Shocks, Migration, and Labor Markets: A Gender Analysis from West Africa," GLO Discussion Paper Series 950, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    3. Sènakpon F. A. Dedehouanou & John McPeak, 2018. "Diversify more or less? Household resilience and food security in rural Nigeria," Working Papers PMMA 2018-01, PEP-PMMA.
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    5. Chen, Xuan & Vuong, Nguyen, 2018. "Climate and Off-farm Labor Supply of Agricultural Households: Evidence from Rural Vietnam," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274187, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Salami, A. & Kounagbe Lokonon, B.O., 2018. "Entrepreneurship and Farm Profit in Rural Niger," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277015, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    7. Riithi, Alexander Njuguna & Irungu, Patrick & Munei , Kimpei, 2015. "Determinants Of Choice Of Alternative Livelihood Diversification Strategies In Solio Resettlement Scheme, Kenya," Dissertations and Theses 269714, University of Nairobi, Department of Agricultural Economics.
    8. Gamel Abdul-Nasser Salifu, 2019. "The Political Economy Dynamics of Rural Household Income Diversification: A Review of the International Literature," Research in World Economy, Research in World Economy, Sciedu Press, vol. 10(3), pages 273-290, December.
    9. Raghu, Prabhakaran T. & Erenstein, Olaf & Böber, Christian & Krishna, Vijesh V., 2015. "Adoption and Outcomes of Hybrid Maize in the Marginal Areas of India," Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture, Humboldt-Universitaat zu Berlin, vol. 54(2), pages 1-26, May.
    10. Riithi, A.N. & Maina, J.M., 2015. "Determinants of Participation in the Nonfarm Sector in a Conflict-Based Resettlement Scheme," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 212694, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    11. Canessa, Eugenia & Giannelli, Gianna Claudia, 2021. "Women's Employment and Natural Shocks," IZA Discussion Papers 14055, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Dedehouanou, Sènakpon Fidèle Ange & Araar, Abdelkrim & Ousseini, Aichatou & Harouna, Abdoulaziz Laouali & Jabir, Maimounata, 2018. "Spillovers from off-farm self-employment opportunities in rural Niger," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 428-442.
    13. Danyelle Branco & José Féres, 2021. "Weather Shocks and Labor Allocation: Evidence from Rural Brazil," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(4), pages 1359-1377, August.

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