Productive Safety Net program and its Impacts on Food Insecurity in Ethiopia

Abstract

In Ethiopia chronic food insecurity has been the feature of extraordinarily poor households living in rural areas. These people heavily rely upon rain fed agriculture and thus, in years of poor rainfall, the threat of widespread starvation is high. The policy response to this threat has been a
series of ad hoc emergency appeals for food aid and other forms of emergency assistance. These policy measures have succeeded in reducing mass starvation among asset-less households. However, they were unable to prevent further famine and could not prevent asset depletion of
marginally poor households affected by adverse rainfall shocks. Consequently, the second largest safety net program in the continent was implemented to handle the problems of chronic food insecurity and prevent households’ asset depletion in the country. With this paper, it was aimed to review the impact of PSNP program on the objectives of its implementation in Ethiopia. The results of the review indicate that Ethiopia’s PSNP has demonstrated the value and potential of a transition from a humanitarian response system of addressing food insecurity to a system that is development-oriented. There is evidence that livelihoods were stabilized and food insecurity is being reduced among beneficiary households. The public works investments in soil and water conservation, which are vital to achieve sustainable livelihoods in rural areas, resulted in significant improvements in the natural environment. However, graduation process has been slow due to its complexity requiring regular investments. Consequently, it remained a challenge because of the repeated shocks hitting the country.