Exclosure Enhances Crop Yields and Rural Livelihood Resilience in Northern Ethiopia

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Agricultural Economics
• Development Studies

Background:

• Ethiopia's drylands face significant threats to food production and livelihoods from land degradation and climate variability.
• Exclosure, a protected area management strategy, is increasingly used for ecological restoration in northern Ethiopia.
• Limited evidence exists on exclosure's impact on agricultural productivity and livelihood diversification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of exclosure on crop yields and household livelihood diversification in Ethiopia.
• To address the gap in empirical evidence regarding the socio-economic benefits of exclosure.

Main Methods:

• Utilized panel data from 491 households over two cropping years.
• Employed fractional logit model, propensity score matching, and Hausman-Taylor estimations.
• Compared households downstream of exclosures with those in open grazing areas.

Main Results:

• Households downstream of exclosures showed significantly greater livelihood diversification.
• Exclosure positively impacted crop yield per hectare, especially during drought.
• Factors influencing diversification included age, gender, livestock, extension services, finance, and market access.

Conclusions:

• Exclosure contributes to ecological restoration, stabilizes agricultural production, and enhances rural livelihood resilience.
• Findings support exclosure as a beneficial restoration approach for degraded, climate-sensitive regions.
• Empirical evidence can inform policy for scaling up exclosure initiatives.