The carrying capacity of pure pastoralist livelihood strategies only to attain food and livelihood security is extremely declining from time to time. Diversifying livelihood strategies at current time become a standard phenomenon within the study area. The general objectives of this study are, therefore, to characterize the existing livelihood strategies adopted by pastoral households and its determinants in the Sawena district, Oromia National Regional State, Southeast Ethiopia. To examine this general objective, the study employed descriptive statistics and bivariate probit model. Both primary and secondary data sources were used for the study. For the purpose of this study primary data collected from 350 sample households through face-to-face interviews. In addition, focus group discussions and personal observation are used. Relevant secondary data were also obtained from concerned zonal and district government offices. Descriptive statistics was applied to characterize livelihood strategies of the sample households. The finding of the survey result indicates that about 66.57% of households engaged on pure pastoralist activities, whereas about 33.43% were relying only on agro pastoralist activities to achieve their livelihood goal(s). This result indicates that most of the pastoral household heads are engaged in pure pastoralist activities rather than diversifying toward agro pastoral and related non-pastoral livelihood activities. Bivariate probit model applied to investigate factors influencing the households’ choice of livelihood strategies. The Econometric model result indicated that age, family size, dependency ratio, tropical livestock unit of holding, access to mass media, distance from the nearest market, access to rural electrification, access to irrigation, total farmland size and access to rangeland were determining pastorals’ choice of livelihood strategies. The results of this study suggest that development interventions, policies and capacity-building activities should be designed to suit the felt needs and circumstances of different groups of pastorals households.
Cite this paper
Gebbisa, M. B. and Mulatu, G. (2020). Choice of Livelihood Strategies and Its Determinants in Pastoralist Area of Bale Zone: The Case of Sawena District, Oromia, South East Ethiopia. Open Access Library Journal, 7, e6737. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1106737.
Ethiopian Economic Association (2004) Transformation of the Ethiopian Agriculture: Potentials, Constraints and Suggested Intervention Measures. Report on the Ethiopia Economy, Addis Ababa.
Getachew Demissie Desta (2016) Livelihood Diversification: Strategies, Determinants and Challenges for Pastoral and Agro-Pastoral Communities of Bale Zone, Ethiopia, International Review of Social Sciences and Humanities.
Webb, C. and Kevern, J. (2001) Focus Groups as a Research Method: A Critique of Some Aspects of Their Use in Nursing Research. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 33, 798-805. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.2001.01720.x
MacIntosh, J.A. (1993) Focus Groups in Distance Nursing Education. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 18, 1981-1985.
https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.1993.18121981.x
Powell, R.A. and Single, H.M. (1996) Focus Groups. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 8, 499-504. https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/8.5.499
Simões, C. and Soares, A.M. (2010) Applying to Higher Education: Information Sources and Choice Factors. Studies in Higher Education, 35, 371-389.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070903096490
Kassie, M., Jaleta, M., Shiferaw, B., Mmbando, F. and Mekuria, M. (2013) Adoption of Interrelated Sustainable Agricultural Practices in Smallholder Systems: Evidence from Rural Tanzania. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 80, 525-540.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2012.08.007
Hassan, R.M. (1996) Planting Strategies of Maize Farmers in Kenya: A Simultaneous Equations Analysis in the Presence of Discrete Dependent Variables. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 15, 137-149.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-5150(96)01194-2
Wassie, B., Colman, D. and Fayissa, B. (2008) Diversification and Livelihood Sustainability in a Semi-Arid Environment: A Case Study from Southern Ethiopia. Journal of Development Studies, 43, 871-889.
Asfaw, A. (2018) Review on Role and Challenges of Agricultural Extension Service on Farm Productivity in Ethiopia. International Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 4, 93-100.
Tizazu, M.A., Ayele, G.M. and Ogato, G.S. (2018) Determinants of Rural Households Livelihood Diversification Strategies in Kuarit District, West Gojjam Zone of Amhara Region, Ethiopia. International Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organization, 6, 61-68. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijebo.20180603.11
Emanuel, E. (2011) Rural Livelihood Diversification and Agricultural Household Welfare in Ghana. Journal of Development Agricultural Economics, 3, 325-334.
Tessema, I. and Simane, B. (2019) Vulnerability Analysis of Smallholder Farmers to Climate Variability and Change: An Agro-Ecological System-Based Approach in the Fincha’a Sub-Basin of the Upper Blue Nile Basin of Ethiopia. Ecological Processes, 8, Article No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13717-019-0159-7
Hussain, I. and Hanjra, M.A. (2004) Irrigation and Poverty Alleviation: Review of the Empirical Evidence. Irrigation and Drainage, 53, 1-15.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ird.114
Velasco-Muñoz, J.F., et al. (2018) Sustainable Water Use in Agriculture: A Review of Worldwide Research. Journal of Sustainability, 10, 1084.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su10041084
Eniyew, A. (2012) Determinants of Livelihood Diversification in Pastoral Societies of Southern Ethiopia. Journal of Agriculture and Biodiversity Research, 1, 43-52.