Impact of large-scale agricultural investment on the livelihood assets of local community in Gambella region, Ethiopia

Amanuel Kussia Guyalo, Esubalew Abate Alemu and Degefa Tolossa Degaga

International Journal of Social Economics, 2021, vol. 48, issue 3, 363-383

Abstract: Purpose - The Ethiopian government is promoting large-scale agricultural investment in lowland regions of the country, claiming that the investment could improve livelihoods of the local people. The outcomes of the investment, however, have been a controversial issue in public and academic discourses. Particularly, studies that quantify the impact of such investment on the asset base of local people are extremely limited. The main purpose of this study is, therefore, to investigate the actual effect of the investment on the asset of the local people and inform policy decision. Design/methodology/approach - This study employs a quasi-experimental research design and a mixed research approach. Data were collected from 342 households drawn through a systematic sampling technique and analysed by using multiple correspondence analysis and propensity score matching. Findings - The study finds that the investment has a significant negative impact on the wealth status of affected households and deteriorated their asset base. Practical implications - The results imply that inclusive and fair business models that safeguard the benefits of the investment hosting community and encourage a strong collaboration and synergy between the community and private investors are needed. Originality/value - This study analyses the impact of large-scale agricultural investment on the asset of affected community based on various livelihood capital. In doing so, it significantly contributes to knowledge gap in the empirical literature. It also contributes to the ongoing academic and policy debates based on actual evidence collected from local community.

Keywords: Agricultural investment; Livelihood asset; Propensity score matching; Ethiopia; Gambella (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (text/html)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:ijsepp:ijse-09-2020-0610

DOI: 10.1108/IJSE-09-2020-0610

Access Statistics for this article

International Journal of Social Economics is currently edited by Professor Terence Garrett

More articles in International Journal of Social Economics from Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Emerald Support ().