IMPACT OF PRODUCTIVE SAFETY NET PROGRAM ON ASSET BUILDING OF RURAL HOUSEHOLDS: THE CASE OF ARBA MINCH ZURIA WOREDA GAMO ZONE, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to measure the impact of PSNP on asset holding in Arba Minch Zuria Woreda. To this effect the primary data were collected through structured questionnaire from 146 PSNP and 219 non-PSNP participant sample households. A multistage sampling technique was employed to determine the sampling households and the total sample sizes of 365 rural households were drawn based on the population size of each kebele. Both descriptive statistics and econometrics models were employed for data analysis. The study has one impact indicator, i.e, asset holding. The indicator is a blend of livestock converted to the Tropical Livestock Unit (TLU) and other assets (productive assets and non-productive assets) that are measured based on their current market value as reported by the respondents. Based on the econometric model estimation results, participation in the productive safety net program was significantly influenced by seven explanatory variables; family size of the household, off-farm activity income, the number of active labor forces in the household, oxen owned (in TLU), Corrugated iron roof house and land holding (in hectare) are statistically significant (at 1%), and Animal death and crop failure is statistically significant (at 10%). Generally the finding of this study, which indicated a positive and significant impact of the program both on the livestock and non-livestock assets, the result shows that, households participating in the program have able to prevent their assets from depletion as compared to the non-beneficiary households, due to program intervention beneficiary households have better asset size as compared to non-beneficiary households. However, there is program failure to incorporate all the chronically food insecure households and targeting problems in the study area. A lot of poor households did not targeted by the program and they still find themselves below their PSNP beneficiar