1. Food security and social protection in highland Ethiopia: Exploring the links between land and the PSNP Tom Lavers Department of Social and Policy Sciences University of Bath DSA Annual Conference 3 rd November 2012

2. The Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) Food insecurity framed as a naturally occurring phenomenon Food Security Programme comprises: – PSNP – Extension packages – Capital-intensive investments – Resettlement Together aim to achieve graduation

3. The land policy State land ownership to protect smallholders against market forces Key feature of smallholder-based development strategy Key assumption that households have access to adequate agricultural inputs, especially land

4. Geblen, Tigray Very food insecure site Drought prone, mountainous topography, severely eroded Fieldwork: 56 semi-structured interviews in March and April 2010 Geblen included in the Ethiopian Rural Household Survey (ERHS)

5. Households access to agricultural inputs Percentage of respondents Ideal set of inputs (1ha, of which 0.5ha irrigated; male labour; pair oxen) 0 Some land but no male labour35 Land and labour but no ox14 Basic set of inputs (some land; male labour; one ox) 51 Source: ERHS

6. Food shortages Source: ERHS

7. The Food Security Programme and graduation No resettlement programme, no capital- intensive investments Extension packages focused on livestock, but unsuited to local conditions PSNP Participants forced to take packages But local government officials admit there is no chance of graduation given local conditions

8. Social protection and migration Despite problems of agricultural production, local government use land and PSNP to limit migration the sense of the PSNP is to make people stay for a period of time Government fears the urbanisation of rural poverty and frames migration as the source of economic, political and social instabilities

9. Conclusions PSNP used to support the failing land and agricultural development policies Land and the PSNP used to limit urban migration The PSNP is used to support the political objectives of the land policy Need to link analysis of cash transfer programmes to broad socioeconomic and political contexts