Chapter Iii Socio-Economic Characteristics of the Population in Agricultural Households
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CHAPTER III SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE POPULATION IN AGRICULTURAL HOUSEHOLDS 1 INTRODUCTION Population as a producer and consumer is closely related with agriculture. On the one hand, population affects production in general and agricultural outputs in particular by furnishing the required labour. On the other hand, the size of a population and its anticipated growth is the main factor determining food consumption requirements. Regarding the balance between population and consumption, if more people are to be fed than the food or services produced, saving and capital investments will be negatively affected. Moreover, population growth also negatively influences agriculture by putting pressure on the environment, such as water, fertility of land, ... etc. Population size further influence productivity mainly through the diversification and specialization of the economy, the size of the market, and the importance of foreign trade. Not only the size, but also the socio-economic characteristics of the population of the agricultural households is important to the agricultural production. Study of the nature of the agricultural sector of a country will not be complete without proper understanding of the socio-economic characteristics of the population engaged in it. The population statistics of the agricultural households can be used to describe the characteristics and distribution of the population in space, its density and degree of concentration, the fluctuation in its rate of growth and the movement from one area to another. Data on population and agriculture will also help in finding out what percentage of resources will be needed at a particular time for the meeting of basic needs of the people and what amount of socially useful and productive labour is available in the country, regardless of whether labour or capital intensive techniques will suit the nation's economy. Generally, an analysis of statistical data on population residing in agricultural households is important to assess the size, structure and characteristics of the human resources involved in and supported by the sector. Such kind of information will provide the human background for planners and policy makers in their attempt to formulate policies that helps improve the sector's output as well as the living conditions of the rural population. Cognizant of this fact, the 2001/2002 Ethiopian Agricultural Sample Enumeration has collected basic social and economic characteristics of the population in agricultural households in October 2001. This chapter assesses the resulting data related to the size, the structure and distribution of the population in agricultural households with some selected variables. These variables include size and age-sex structure, household size, relationship to the head of the household, marital status, literacy, educational level, working status, reason for not working, type of occupation, and employment status. Moreover, this chapter presents statistical tables that show the results at zonal and wereda levels. In the Annex to this chapter are also given tables showing Estimates, Standard Errors (S.E.) and Coefficient of Variation (C.V.) for some relevant variables. 2 SIZE AND AGE-SEX STRUCTURE OF THE POPULATION IN AGRICULTURAL HOUSEHOLDS In this section, the size and age-sex composition of the population in agricultural households of Amhara Region will be assessed. The population in agricultural households comprises all the persons residing in households with at least one agricultural holder, where a holder is defined as a person who exercises management and control over the operation of the agricultural holding such as land and livestock and makes the major decision regarding the utilization of the available resources (detailed explanation of holder and holdings are provided in Chapter II of this report in the section that deals with concepts and definitions). Whenever is appropriate the assessment will be done separately for non-holders, holders and type of holding. 2.1 Size of the Population in Agricultural Households Summary Table III.1 presents the estimated population size of the agricultural households in Amhara Region classified by sex, place of residence and holding status. According to the result of this sample enumeration, the population in agricultural households of the region is estimated to be 14,726,570. Of the total population in agricultural households, 14,382,773 are residing in rural areas and the remaining 343,797 that is, only 2.3 percent of the population in agricultural households are residing in urban areas. The enumeration results show that there were 3,255,768 agricultural holders in the region, making up 22.1 percent of the total population residing in agricultural households. Further breakdown of the agricultural holders by type of holding is presented in Summary Table III.2. Accordingly, holders practicing crop and livestock farms constitute the largest proportion (73.2%) of total holders. Holders practicing crop only farms make up 19% while those practicing livestock only are about 8% of total holders. Summary Table III.1 Size of the Population in Agricultural Households by Sex and Place of Residence Total Population in Members Other Place of Residence/ Agricultural Households Holders Than Holders Sex No. % No. % No. % Rural + Urban Both Sexes 14,726,570 100.0 3,255,767 22.1 11,470,803 77.9 Male 7,532,648 100.0 2,677,590 35.5 4,855,058 64.5 Female 7,193,922 100.0 578,177 8.0 6,615,745 92.0 Rural Both Sexes 14,382,773 100.0 3,183,823 22.1 11,198,950 77.9 Male 7,367,127 100.0 2,625,133 35.6 4,741,994 64.4 Female 7,015,646 100.0 558,690 8.0 6,456,956 92.0 Urban Both Sexes 343,797 100.0 71,944 20.9 271,853 79.1 Male 165,521 100.0 52,457 31.7 113,064 68.3 Female 178,275 100.0 19,487 10.9 158,789 89.1 Summary Table III.2 Size of Agricultural Holders by Sex, Type of Holding and Place of Residence Place of Total Holders Crop Only Livestock Only Crop and Livestock Residence/ Sex No. % No. % No. % No. % Rural + Urban Both Sexes 3,255,767 100 622,919 19.1 249,425 7.7 2,383,422 73.2 Male 2,677,590 100 424,084 15.8 145,962 5.5 2,107,544 78.7 Female 578,177 100 198,836 34.4 103,463 17.9 275,878 47.7 Rural Both Sexes 3,183,823 100 614,471 19.3 210,120 6.6 2,359,232 74.1 Male 2,625,133 100 418,420 15.9 119,194 4.5 2,087,519 79.5 Female 558,690 100 196,050 35.1 90,926 16.3 271,713 48.6 Urban Both Sexes 71,944 100 8,449 11.7 39,305 54.6 24,190 33.6 Male 52,457 100 5,663 10.8 26,768 51 20,026 38.2 Female 19,487 100 2,785 14.3 12,537 64.3 4,164 21.4 The enumeration result further shows that the proportion of holders among the males to be significantly higher than their female counterparts. In the rural and the urban areas, the proportion of the holders among the males is about five times and three times higher than that of the females, respectively. Regarding distribution of the population in agricultural households of zones by type of holding, the enumeration result presented in Summary Table III.3 shows that in all zones, except Bahir Dar, combination of crop and live stock is the dominant type of holdings where the proportion who combine crop and live stock is highest (78.6 percent) for South Wollo and least (33.8 percent) for Bahir Dar Zone. The majority of the population in agricultural house holds of Bahir Dar zone hold livestock only. On the other hand, exclusive crop farming is more common (22.4 percent) in East Gojam zone and least common (4.8 percent) in Bahir Dar Zone. Summary Table III.3 Distribution of Population in Agricultural Households by Holding Status, Type of Holding, Zone and Place of Residence Total Population in Total Holders Holders by Type of Holding Place of Agricultural Crop Livestock Crop and Zones Residence Households No. % Only Only Livestock Amhara Region Rural + Urban 14,726,570 3,255,767 100 19.1 7.7 73.2 Rural 14,382,773 3,183,823 100 19.3 6.6 74.1 Urban 343,797 71,944 100 11.7 54.6 33.6 North Gonder Rural + Urban 2,260,617 469,742 100 16.1 8.6 75.3 Rural 2,208,240 458,948 100 16.2 7.5 76.3 Urban 52,377 10,793 100 11 53.3 35.7 South Gonder Rural + Urban 1,850,298 409,114 100 17.7 8.3 74.1 Rural 1,811,752 401,316 100 17.9 7.1 75 Urban 38,546 7,797 100 5.1 69.2 25.7 North Wolo Rural + Urban 1,400,140 325,055 100 21.8 4.9 73.3 Rural 1,373,347 319,151 100 21.8 4.4 73.9 Urban 26,793 5,904 100 22.8 32.3 44.9 South Wolo Rural + Urban 2,307,396 515,616 100 17.6 3.8 78.6 Rural 2,267,258 506,565 100 17.6 3.2 79.2 Urban 40,138 9,051 100 19.8 38 42.2 North Shewa Rural + Urban 1,581,099 369,679 100 21.9 7.3 70.8 Rural 1,530,092 358,177 100 22.2 5.8 72 Urban 51,006 11,502 100 13.3 53.1 33.7 East Gojam Rural + Urban 1,860,994 413,211 100 22.4 8.6 69 Rural 1,826,216 405,967 100 22.6 7.4 69.9 Urban 34,778 7,244 100 8.7 72.2 19.1 West Gojam Rural + Urban 1,904,225 413,630 100 18.9 10.2 70.9 Rural 1,863,342 405,359 100 19.1 9.1 71.8 Urban 40,883 8,271 100 9.2 62.7 28.1 Waghamera Rural + Urban 350,729 81,131 100 20.8 6.3 72.9 Rural 347,208 80,363 100 20.8 6 73.2 Urban 3,521 769 100 13.8 42.1 44.1 Awi Rural + Urban 814,358 175,156 100 15.6 12.4 72 Rural 789,623 170,342 100 16 11.1 72.9 Urban 24,735 4,814 100 3.8 57.2 38.9 Oromia Rural + Urban 373,344 79,163 100 22.2 7.4 70.4 Rural 365,696 77,636 100 22.2 6.8 71 Urban 7,648 1,528 100 20.9 38.8 40.3 Bahir Dar Rural + Urban 23,373 4,270 100 4.8 61.4 33.8 Rural ---- - - Urban 23,373 4,270 100 4.8 61.4 33.8 2.2 Age-Sex Structure of the Population in Agricultural Households Age and sex are among the important Factors that determine the status of individuals in their community in general and their involvement in production process in particular.