CIAO DATE: 09/2011
July 2011
Oxfam commissioned this research to assess the contribution of different agricultural business models to poverty alleviation, livelihood security, climate resilience, and empowerment of women in the sesame sector in Metekel and Assosa in Benishangul Gumuz, Ethiopia. The key findings of the report are that sesame is a suitable crop for poverty alleviation for smallholders in Benishangul Gumuz and that the smallholder model is competitive versus the large-scale investor model in terms of productivity. With minimal expenditure for sesame seeds and some simple equipment for ploughing, weeding and harvesting, farmers can cultivate sesame on a family labor basis. Potential income is higher in the smallholder model than from either communal land management, or from the salaries from working for large-scale investors. Smallholders can improve their income and security further through membership of primary production co-operatives that offer higher sales prices and paid-out dividends. Women are marginalized in sesame cultivation as they are excluded from the sales process and expected to manage household labor, thus facing a double work burden. Working as daily laborers on large-scale farms is particularly disadvantageous for women. The smallholder model is more suitable for women since it allows them to manage their double workload burden according to their needs.
Resource link: Ethiopia's Sesame Sector: The contribution of different farming models to poverty alleviation, climate resilience and women's empowerment [PDF] - 1.9M