Drought, famine and war persist in Ethiopia, despite government efforts to combat these. Government attempts to create a policy environment enabling broad economic growth and employment rarely succeeded. Was the Employment Generation Scheme more successful at providing food and income?

The Ethiopian government’s Employment Generation Scheme (EGS) was modelled on an approach pioneered in Maharastra, India. The EGS aims to create employment by building sustainable productive assets (such as irrigation infrastructure and rural access roads to help market integration) and provide cash and food for work. This is achieved through labour-intensive public works; normally labour based contracts employing manual and semi-skilled labour.

Research from Durham University, UK, examines the EGS implementation process and evaluates successes and failures during Ethiopian crises from 1997 to 2003. The research shows that the EGS did not transform production or stimulate economic growth in rural areas. This was due to:

• weak local governance
• an excessive focus on ‘relief’ by non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
• a lack of management capacity amongst grassroots organisations
• poorly integrated budget management.

Furthermore, the government did not implement policies to strengthen land reform and water management. Consequently, and despite huge efforts from central government and the international community, few outputs of EGS remain strong.

In the Amhara and Tigray regions, many local officials were unaware of the national EGS policy and the programme mechanisms involved. Due to weak compliance, the policy was seen as voluntary and many officials did not implement central policies. Furthermore, poor communication between federal, regional and local governments increased the differences between the government EGS policy and the reality facing local officials.

Many regional officials interviewed did not think it was possible to implement the EGS approach. For example, most NGOs had a strong preference for food-for-work aid - managing this provides funding to cover core costs – and were sceptical about increasing cash-for-work aid. Donors also preferred food-based transfers, even though money to purchase food was the key problem, not local food availability.

Other problems included:

• The impact of the EGS on short-term food relief varied. In some places, low wages for workers meant that the policy did not meet nutrition targets.
• Many public works projects created common property assets, such as soil and water conservation structures, but these had limited effects on food production and little effect on household poverty.
• Most EGS projects were not integrated into area plans and were therefore not sustainable. This was partly because funding was poorly planned and targeted.

There were some successes, such as pilot studies of self-targeting to identify people most in need of support. However, the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the EGS was low. Whilst EGS can compliment other development investments, it cannot remove all the constraints to overcoming food insecurity and poverty. Suggestions for improvements include:

• Streamlining all labour intensive public works into regular budgets, so that cash-based transfers are part of the national budgets.
• Greater efforts to resolve land issues, which are a key constraint to mobility.
• Simplified policies and guidelines to support the implementation of integrated development investments.
• Options for using EGS to build private assets as well as public assets, to increase the maintainance of assets and productivity.

Source(s):
‘Fighting Hunger and Poverty in Ethiopia: Ethiopia’s experience in implementing employment generation schemes as part of the national policy for disaster prevention and management,’ Doctoral Thesis, University of Durham, by Peter Middlebrook, 2005 Full document.

Funded by: Self funded

id21 Research Highlight: 31 October 2006

Further Information:
Peter Middlebrook

Contact the contributor: peter@middlebrook-miller.com

Durham University, UK

Other related links:
id21 insights #61 - 'Achieving food security: what next for sub-Saharan Africa?'

'Research works in Ethiopia'

'Alternative futures: modelling scenarios for food security in Africa'

'How does conflict affect food security in Ethiopia and Eritrea?'