The document provides an overview of Ethiopia's Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP), which aims to achieve food security and prevent asset depletion for food insecure households. The PSNP provides cash or food transfers through public works programs and direct support. It faces challenges of poverty, food insecurity, and environmental degradation. Key assumptions include other programs being available at scale, households using transfers appropriately, and sufficient resources being available. Factors ensuring sustainability include continued policy and donor support, management of environmental impacts, and mainstreaming of gender issues.

1. S
SAFETY
AFETY NET
NET INTERVENTION
INTERVENTION IN
IN E
ETHIOPIA
THIOPIA–
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S
SAFETY
AFETY NET
NET INTERVENTION
INTERVENTION IN
IN E
ETHIOPIA
THIOPIA–
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P
PRODUCTIVE
RODUCTIVE S
SAFETY
AFETY N
NET
ET P
PROGRAM
ROGRAM (PSNP)
(PSNP)
AUGUST, 2012
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2. Contents:
1. PSNP- Overview
2. Key Policies related to PSNP
3. Problems
4. Assumptions
5. Factors ensuring sustainability
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3. PSNP: OVERVIEW
PSNP is a core component part of Food Security Program (FSP).
PSNP provides cash or food transfers to food insecure population.
Through mechanism:
which prevents assets depletion at the household level.
creates assets at the community level.
and stimulates markets.
The program has two components:
The program has two components:
1. A labor based public work; and
2. A direct Support: to ensure support to the households who lack labor, have
no other means of support, and who are chronically food insecure.
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4. PSNP (CNTD.)
Objectives:
Achieve food security for those who are able,
Achieve food sufficiency for those who are unable to achieve food security
Desired Outcomes:
o Food consumption assured and asset depletion prevented;
o Markets stimulated access to services enhanced; and
o The environment rehabilitated and enhanced.
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5. Outputs required to achieve outcomes:
Appropriate, timely and predictable transfers (cash and/or food) received
by households in response to chronic requirements.
Transitory cash and food needs addressed effectively in PSNP Weredas, to
the limit of risk financing resources.
Quality, new existing, community assets with operational management
mechanisms established.
Institutional capacity to manage the PSNP strengthened.
Coordination, complementarily and synergy promoted within government
PSNP (CTD.)
Coordination, complementarily and synergy promoted within government
systems and with other relevant programs and organizations.
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6. KEY POLICIES RELATED TO THE PSNP
A) Policies Related to Poverty Reduction, Rural Development and Food Security:
PASDEP (Plan for accelerated and sustained development to end
poverty)(2006)
To build an economy which has a modern and productive agricultural
sector.
To sustain economic development and secure social justice; and
Increase per capita income of citizens so that it reaches at the level of
those in middle income countries.
those in middle income countries.
*(PSNP lies within the Economic Growth, Agricultural and Rural
Development Sector)
* New in PASDEP commercialization of agriculture as a stimulus for
economic growth.
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7. KEY POLICIES RELATED TO THE PSNP (CTD.)
The Food Security Strategy (rev. 2002)
To increase the availability of food through increased domestic
production.
To insure access to food for food deficit households; and
To strengthen emergency response capabilities.
The Rural Development Policy:
Rapid and sustainable economic development would be ensured through
agriculture-led and rural-centered development.
Trade and industry will grow faster in alliance with agriculture.
Trade and industry will grow faster in alliance with agriculture.
Agriculture accelerates trade and industry development by supplying
raw materials, creating opportunities for capital accumulation and
enhancing domestic markets.
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8. KEY POLICIES RELATED TO THE PSNP (CTD)
National Policy on Disaster Risk Management (NPDRM)
New policy released in mid-2009 seeks to change the emphasis of disaster
management from disaster response to disaster risk management.
Disaster Risk Management refers to a full management cycle:
Prevention
Mitigation
Preparedness
Response and
Rehabilitation
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9. KEY POLICIES RELATED TO THE PSNP (CTD)
B) Policies Relating to Welfare and Social Protection
The Developmental Social Welfare Policy issued in November 1996 is
currently under review.
Policy objectives:
To expand social welfare development programs and services with the
participation of the community
To study causes of social problems and development of preventative
measures
The rehabilitate the affected members of the society and those who
The rehabilitate the affected members of the society and those who
need special care and support.
Policy targets:
Children, youth, family, women and the elderly, who live in difficult
circumstances,
Persons with physical, mental and emotional problems,
Victims of social problems such as prostitutes, juvenile delinquents,
beggars, etc.
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10. KEY POLICIES RELATED TO THE PSNP (CTD)
C) The National Nutrition Strategy
The National Nutrition Strategy aims to ensure that all Ethiopians
secure adequate nutritional status in a sustainable manner.
D) Governance, Decentralization, Empowerment, and Capacity Building
Devolution of power to the regional governments (to implement
economic and development programs)
Regional governments are mandated to local development and delivery
of basic services.
Food security program is a Federal program
Capacity building program comprised of:
Development of human resources
Building and strengthening of institutions, and establishment of effective
working practices
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11. PROBLEMS
A) Poverty, Vulnerability and Food Insecurity
Causes of poverty and food insecurity
Land degradation
Recurrent drought
Population pressure
Low input subsistence agricultural practices
Lack of employment opportunities and
Limited access to services
Limited access to services
38% of the rural households fall below the food poverty line
47% of children under five suffer from stunting
15% of the rural population report that they experience a food gap of grater
than four months.
Ethiopia has suffered from the high rates of inflation impacting on both
food prices and the overall consumer price index.
Access to services is still stands at relatively low rates.
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12. PROBLEMS (CTD)
B) Environmental Degradation
Land degradation is a major cause of the country’s low and declining
agricultural productivity. The high levels of land degradation are the
result of :
Environmental factors: fragile soil, mountainous terrain, and rainfall
pattern.
Environmentally destructive farming practices
Rapid growing population
Poor livestock management
Poor livestock management
Program size:
PSNP has a caseload of 8.3 million people.
Transitory needs among households affected by shocks are covered by the
PSNP contingency budget.
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13. ASSUMPTIONS
Outcome
Outcome-
- to
to -
- Objective Assumptions
Objective Assumptions
1. Other elements of the FSP are available to PSNP participants at the
required scale and other programs are effective at enabling food sufficiency.
2. Other rural development programs and service beyond FSP are available in
PSNP areas.
3. Shocks do not deplete household assets.
4. Alternative mechanisms to ensure food sufficiency for direct support
participants exist.
5. Alternative mechanisms for effectively addressing transitory food insecurity
in place.
Failure of outcome-to-objective assumptions compromise the achievement of
higher level objectives to which the PSNP is trying to contribute and will
compromise the achievement of the overall FSP objective.
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14. ASSUMPTIONS (CNTD)
Output
Output-
-to
to-
-Outcome Assumptions
Outcome Assumptions
1. Participants use transfers to assure food consumption and assets protection.
2. No significant dilution of transfers occurs.
3. Sufficient resource are available to address all chronic cases.
4. Key actors respond to market signals.
5. Transitory cash and food needs being met is adequate to protect lives and
livelihoods or other elements of response covered adequately by other actors.
6. Effective and sustainable management of public works maintained.
6. Effective and sustainable management of public works maintained.
7. Negative effect of staff turnover can be overcome.
*Failures of assumptions at output-to-outcome level will prevent the PSNP from
achieving its own program objectives.
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15. FACTORS ENSURING SUSTAINABILITY
Policy support and co-ordination: the new phase does not require significant
policy changes in comparison to previous phases.
Economic and Financial issues: $2,012,200,000- donors are financing almost
all costs of the program outside of core government staff.
Institutional and management capacity: staff turnover and an increasing
dependence on contract staff is undermining sustainability of efforts.
Technical issues, including regulation and operation: vast majority of public
works do meet minimum technical standards. Watershed management
approach is now established as a mainstream MoARD methodology.
approach is now established as a mainstream MoARD methodology.
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16. FACTORS ENSURING SUSTAINABILITY (CNTD)
Environmental protection: given the scale of some of the investments and the
potential to alter water courses and other key factors in the environment, it is
key that environmental protection measures are in place. The PSNP has an
Environmental and Social Management Framework which includes
procedures to limit potential negative program impacts.
Sociocultural and Gender issues: community committees largely responsible
for program targeting. Composition of these committees, include women.
Progress made in gender mainstreaming.
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