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Cash Crops and Food Security: Evidence from Ethiopian Smallholder Coffee Producers

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  • Tadesse Kuma
  • Mekdim Dereje
  • Kalle Hirvonen
  • Bart Minten

Abstract

One of the central questions in food policy debates has been the role of cash cropping for achieving food security in low-income countries. We revisit this question in the context of smallholder coffee production in Ethiopia. Using data collected by the authors on about 1600 coffee farmers in the country, we find that coffee income is associated with improved food security, even after controlling for total income and other factors. Further analysis suggests that one possible pathway is linked to being better able to smooth consumption across agricultural seasons.

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  • Tadesse Kuma & Mekdim Dereje & Kalle Hirvonen & Bart Minten, 2019. "Cash Crops and Food Security: Evidence from Ethiopian Smallholder Coffee Producers," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(6), pages 1267-1284, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:55:y:2019:i:6:p:1267-1284
    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2018.1425396
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    4. Mahamadou Roufahi Tankari, 2017. "Cash crops reduce the welfare of farm households in Senegal," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(5), pages 1105-1115, October.
    5. Ellen Mangnus & A.C.M. (Guus) Van Westen, 2018. "Roaming through the Maze of Maize in Northern Ghana. A Systems Approach to Explore the Long-Term Effects of a Food Security Intervention," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-19, October.
    6. Maria Sassi & Gopal Trital, 2022. "A latent growth curve modelling approach to seasonal and spatial dynamics of food security heterogeneities in rural Lake Naivasha Basin, Kenya," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(1), pages 111-125, February.
    7. Ghoshray, Atanu, 2022. "Trends and persistence of farm-gate coffee prices around the world," 96th Annual Conference, April 4-6, 2022, K U Leuven, Belgium 321166, Agricultural Economics Society - AES.
    8. Kamel Elouhichi & Pascal Tillie & Aymeric Ricome & Sergio Gomez-Y-Paloma, 2020. "Modelling Farm-household Livelihoods in Developing Economies: Insights from three country case studies using LSMS-ISA data," JRC Research Reports JRC118822, Joint Research Centre.
    9. Mazhar Mughal & Charlotte Fontan Sers, 2020. "Cereal production, undernourishment, and food insecurity in South Asia," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 524-545, May.
    10. Proscovia Renzaho Ntakyo & Marrit Berg, 2019. "Effect of market production on rural household food consumption: evidence from Uganda," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 11(5), pages 1051-1070, October.
    11. Vu, Khoa & Vuong, Nguyen Dinh Tuan & Vu-Thanh, Tu-Anh & Nguyen, Anh Ngoc, 2022. "Income shock and food insecurity prediction Vietnam under the pandemic," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
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    13. Jue Wang & Haiwei Jiang & Yuan He, 2023. "Determinants of Smallholder Farmers’ Income-Generating Activities in Rubber Monoculture Dominated Region Based on Sustainable Livelihood Framework," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-17, January.

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    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • D - Microeconomics

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