Building Assets for Sustainable Recovery and Food Security

Principal Investigators: Peter Little, University of Kentucky and IDA; Workneh Negatu, IDR

Publications & Outputs   |   Project Proposal

Problem & Objective
External shocks, such as droughts in the Horn of Africa and hurricanes in Central America, have devastating effects on the lives of rural people. For some, the passage of time permits recovery while others become trapped in downward cycles of poverty. The primary goal of this project is to understand the constraints that turn a onetime shock into poverty traps.

Research Context
This project is initiating new field research, building on existing studies and databases, and extending the comparative work in areas of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Honduras. The research looks at how different or missing markets and social networks in each of these areas have affected rural people's ability to recover after experiencing a severe external shock.

Policy Implications
The study identifies policies that improve household access to land, labor, and capital markets, thus allowing impoverished households to escape the debilitating cycles of poverty, asset depletion and food security.

Publications and Outputs

BASIS Briefs   |   Other Publications   |    Trip Reports

• Are Ethiopia's Farmers Dependent on Food Aid?, by Peter D. Little. February 2006. 4 pages. (BASIS Brief No. 43)
  [Adobe Acrobat PDF 73K]
• The Long-term Impacts of Short-term Shocks: Poverty Traps and Environmental Disasters in Ethiopia and Honduras, by Michael R. Carter, Peter D. Little, Tewodaj Mogues, and Workneh Negatu. May 2005. 4 pages. (BASIS Brief 28)
  [Adobe Acrobat PDF 253K]
• “Churning” on the Margins: How the Poor Respond to Drought in South Wollo, Ethiopia, by Peter D. Little, M. Priscilla Stone, Tewodaj Mogues, A. Peter Castro and Workneh Negatu, October 2004, 4 pages. (BASIS Brief 21)
  [Adobe Acrobat PDF 236K ]
• The Unfinished Business of Liberalization: Making Markets Work for All, by Steve Boucher, Brad Barham, and Michael R. Carter. April 2003, 4 pages. (BASIS Brief no. 15)
  [Adobe Acrobat PDF 53K bytes]
• Building Assets for Sustainable Recovery and Food Security, by Peter D. Little, Abdel Ghaffar M. Ahmed, Michael Carter, Micahel Roth, and Workneh Negatu. January 2002, 4 pages. (BASIS Brief no. 5)
  [Adobe Acrobat PDF 434K bytes]

• Shocks, Sensitivity and Resilience: Tracking the Economic Impacts of Environmental Disaster on Assets in Ethiopia and Honduras, by Michael R. Carter, Peter D. Little, Tewodaj Mogues, and Workneh Negatu. October 2004. 38 pages.
  [Adobe Acrobat PDF 189K]
• Reasons for Food Insecurity of Farm Households in South Wollo, Ethiopia: Explanations at Grassroots, by Workneh Negatu. July 2004, 22 pages.
  [Adobe Acrobat PDF 243K]
• Small Businesses in Small Towns of the Eastern Amhara Region: Nature and Economic Performance. A Research Report, by Tegegne Gebre Egziabher and Mulat Demeke. January 2004, 59 pages.
  [Adobe Acrobat PDF 1,428K]
• Summary of Proceedings of the Workshop on BASIS/IDR Research Programme in the Eastern Amhara Region, Ethiopia, edited by Peter Little. January 2004, 86 pages.
  [Adobe Acrobat PDF 926K. Table of Contents 2 pages, 138K]
• Retrospective Accounts of Responses to Drought by Female and Male Heads of Household in Bati and Dessie Zuria Woredas, South Wello and Oromiya Zones: Preliminary Field Report, 2002, by M. Priscilla Stone, based on fieldwork by M. Priscilla Stone and Mengistu Dessalegn Debela. January 2003, 24 pages.
  [Adobe Acrobat PDF 291K bytes]
• Post-drought Recovery Strategies among the Pastoral Households in the Horn of Africa: A Review, by Abdel Ghaffar M. Ahmed, Alemayehu Azeze, Mustafa Babiker, and Diress Tsegaye. Addis Ababa : OSSREA, 2002, 80 pages. (Development Research Report Series, no. 3) Posted with permission of OSSREA.
  [Adobe Acrobat PDF 663K bytes]
• Understanding Community Perceptions of Livelihoods, Assets, and Recovery Strategies: Preliminary Findings from Northern Kenya, by Kevin Smith and Peter D. Little. October 2002, 46 pages.
  [Adobe Acrobat PDF 302K bytes]
• The Geographic Dimensions of Food Security in South Wello: A Preliminary Analysis of Survey Data from 'Round 4 (November/December 2001)' Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS), by Michael E. Shin. September 2002, 13 pages.
  [Adobe Acrobat PDF 1.38M bytes]
• Social Capital, Assets and Responses to Drought: Preliminary Observations from Interviews, South Wello and Oromiya Zones, Amhara Region, Ethiopia, by A. Peter Castro, based on fieldwork by A. Peter Castro and Mengistu Dessalegn Debela. September 2002, 29 pages.
  [Adobe Acrobat PDF 160K bytes]
• The Influence of the State and Market on Local Level Management of Natural Resources: Case Studies of Forests, Irrigation and Pasture Sites in South Wello, Ethiopia, by Alula Pankhurst. June 2002, 119 pages.
  [Adobe Acrobat PDF 803K bytes]
• IDR-BASIS Workshop: Formation of Zone Research and Development Liaison Committee. March 2002, 5 pages.
  [Adobe Acrobat PDF 25K bytes]
• A Brief Status Report for the Dessie Mini-Workshop, by Workneh Negatu. March 2002, 10 pages.
  [Adobe Acrobat PDF 44K bytes]
• Report of a Research Trip to Explore Gender and Intrahousehold Dynamics: South Wello and Oromiya Zones of Amhara Region, Ethiopia, June 10-14, 2001, by Priscilla Stone. June 2001, 13 pages.
  [Adobe Acrobat PDF 198K bytes]