Social Desirability,Opportunism and Actual Support for Farmers’ Market Organisations in Ethiopia

One of the striking issues in the literature on farmers’ market organisations (FMOs) is that farmers generally report quite positive opinions regarding the services of their FMO, while, at the same time, actual sales reveal a much more reserved attitude. We argue that farmers may feel social and/or opportunistic pressure to express positive opinions concerning the FMO, to donors and policy-makers, which are not necessarily in line with their actions. This article proposes a list experiment method to control for this bias. The method shows that especially farmers who express strong support for the FMO seriously hesitate to speak freely.     

Determining the effects of government's perceived ecological roles on Chinese consumers' proenvironmental attitude,and green consumerism: The moderating effect of greenwashing perceptions

While the normative ecological roles of a government's effect on consumers' proecological attitude and green consumerism have received less attention, greenwashing interaction effect remains unexplored. Building on the two normative theories – stakeholder theory and social contract theory, the study tests a theoretical model integrating mediating and moderating relationships using survey data from 202 consumers across China. Results show a government's normative ecological roles positively and significantly on consumers' proenvironmental attitudes and green consumerism. It also confirms the mediating roles of the proenvironment between the ecological roles of a government and green consumerism. Further, tests of greenwashing moderation effect generated mixed outcomes. Insignificant greenwashing interaction effect between proenvironment and green consumerism, but, it proved significant interaction between ecological roles of a government and green behavior. The study proposes research avenues on how researchers can step up the theme and policy implications to practitioners.     

Transforming Staple Food Value Chains in Africa: The Case of Teff in Ethiopia

We study changes in the last decade in the teff value chain, Ethiopia’s most important staple food crop by area and value. Upstream, there is increasing adoption of modern inputs and new varieties – especially by those farmers living close to cities – leading to higher land productivity. Mid- and downstream, we find improved processing costs and increasing willingness-to-pay for convenience and quality, as illustrated by the emergence of one-stop retail shops and the rise of more expensive teff varieties. Because of the large numbers of teff producers and consumers, this transformation has important implications on the country’s food security.     

Factors affecting women＇s participation in indigenous conflict resolution in Issa and Gurgura Clans of Somali,Eastern Ethiopia

This article tries to explore the factors affecting women＇s participation in indigenous conflict resolution among the Issa and Gurgura clans of Somali ethnic group. It also tries to explore the system of conflict resolution among the Issa and Gurgura clans and women＇s representation in the system. It assesses the role of women in the formation of social capital through marriage and blood relations between the different clans. Women are the primary agent in the formation of social capital between clans or ethnic groups. The paper focuses on some of the important elements of the socio-cultural settings of the study community that are in one way or another related to conflict and indigenous conflict resolution mechanisms. It also examines the positive aspects of marriage practices in the formation of social capital which strengthens friendship and unity instead of enmity.     

Repeated Transaction in Rural Grain Markets of Ethiopia

This article uses the theory of repeated transaction to model exchange in rural grain markets. We examine the theoretical and empirical drivers of repeated transaction, as well as potential problems that may arise as a result of its widespread use. We develop a structural repeated game to represent buyer-seller relations in a developing country grain market, motivated by observations in Ethiopia. The model generates hypotheses regarding the logic that drives long-term tied transactions, as governed by information access, screening and investment costs, and time preferences. The model's predictions are tested using market transaction data collected in Ethiopia in 2009. Results support the view that a relational contract is driven by access to information and the costs of screening. Our major finding is that trust in relational trading can emerge through costly repeated interaction.     

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

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.