Improving Women Farmers' Welfare through a Goat Credit Project and Its Implications for Promoting Food Security and Rural Livelihoods

Abstract

In rural areas of Ethiopia, women do most of the household and farm work such as keeping livestock, growing crops, and preparing or cooking food for family members. They are, however, economically less empowered and often do not have access to resources. To address this problem, the Research and Extension Office of Haramaya University, Ethiopia, distributed locally adapted goats to poor and vulnerable women farmers. The project sought to link economic rehabilitation through a credit-in-kind approach with a clear focus on gender and the empowerment of women farmers. The objective of the current study was to determine the effect of the goat credit project on women farmers’ welfare. It was observed that 88% of the women farmers who sold goats earned mean annual cash income of 2644 Ethiopian Birr. As a result, they acquired assets and diversified their livelihoods by purchasing and raising poultry, cows, oxen, and donkeys. The women farmers became more economically empowered, which enabled them to gain greater control over their resources, which in turn increased their capacity to participate in social activities and household decision making. The goat credit project brought about substantial changes by enhancing food security and diversifying the livelihoods of women farmers.