Situational analysis of indigenous social institutions and their role in rural livelihoods: The case of selected food insecure lowland areas of Southern Ethiopia Nigatu Regassa (PhD) Eden Mengistu (PhD), and Ansha Yusufe (Msc) October 2013 DCG Report No. 73 Situational analysis of indigenous social institutions and their role in rural livelihoods: The case of selected food insecure lowland areas of Southern Ethiopia Nigatu Regassa Eden Mengistu, and Ansha Yusufe DCG Report No. 73 October 2013 iii Drylands Coordination Group The Drylands Coordination Group (DCG) is an NGO-driven forum for exchange of practical experiencesand knowledge on food security and natural resource management in the drylands of Africa. DCG facilitates this exchange of experiences between NGOs and research and policy-making institutions. The DCG activities, which are carried out by DCG members in Ethiopia, Mali and Sudan, aim to contribute to improved food security of vulnerable households and sustainable natural resource management in the drylands of Africa. The founding DCG members consist of ADRA Norway, CARE Norway, Norwegian Church Aid, Norwegian People's Aid, Stromme Foundation and The Development Fund. The secretariat of DCG is located at the Environmental House (Miljøhuset) in Oslo and acts as a facilitating and implementing body for the DCG. The DCG’s activities are funded by NORAD (the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation). Extracts from this publication may only be reproduced after prior consultation with the DCG secretariat. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed in this publication are entirely those of the author and cannot be attributed directly to the Drylands Coordination Group. © By Nigatu Regassa, Eden Mengistu and Ansha Yusufe Drylands Coordination Group Report No. 73, (October 2013). Drylands Coordination Group c/o Miljøhuset Mariboes gate 8 N-0183 Oslo Norway Tel.: +47 23 10 94 10 Internet: http://www.drylands-group.org ISSN: 1503-0601 Photo credits: cover: T.A. Benjaminsen, Gry Synnevåg. Cover design: Spekter Reklamebyrå as, Ås. Printed at: CDDU Grafisk AS, Oslo iv Indigenous social institutions and their role in rural livelihoods TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS viii ACRONYMS ix ABSTRACT x 1. INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................ 1 1.2 REGIONAL PROFILE ..................................................................................................... 1 1.3. JUSTIFICATION AND RELEVANCE ........................................................................... 2 1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ...................................................................................... 3 1.5 LITERATURE REVIEW.................................................................................................. 4 1.5.1 The concept of informal social institutions and livelihoods 4 1.5.2 Types of local social organizations/institutions 4 1.5.3 The Role of Indigenous Social Institutions 5 1.6 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ...................................................................................... 7 1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY .................................................................................... 8 2. SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY 10 2.1 DATA SOURCES .......................................................................................................... 10 2.2 SAMPLING DESIGN .................................................................................................... 10 2.3 DATA COLLECTION ................................................................................................... 11 2.4 DATA PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS ....................................................................... 11 3. ROLE OF INFORMAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN RURAL LIVELIHOODS 12 3.1 BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE STUDY AREA ................................ 12 3.2 BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RESPONDENTS .............................. 16 3.3 TRADITIONAL/INDIGENOUS ADMINISTRATIONS: MORAS, YEJOKA AND GADA ................................................................................................................. 18 3.3.1 The Moras of Konso 18 3.3.2 Yejoka of Guraghe 20 3.3.3 Traditional Gedana of the Sidama 21 3.3.4. Contribution of indigenous administrations to food security and natural resource management 21 3.4 CHARACTERIZATION AND ROLE OF INFORMAL INSTITUTIONS ...................... 22 3.4.1 Idir 22 3.4.2 Pooled labor 25 v Drylands Coordination Group 3.4.3 Share Groups 28 3.4.4 Iqub 29 3.4.5 Other traditional coping strategies 31 3.5 OVERVIEW ON THE STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS (SWOT) OF INFORMAL INSTITUTIONS ................................................ 32 4. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 34 4.1 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION ................................................................................ 34 4.2 RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................ 34 REFERENCES 36 vi Indigenous social institutions and their role in rural livelihoods LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Figure 1: Simple conceptual Framework of social capital. ........................................................... 8 Table 1: Land size and population of the study kebeles. ............................................................. 12 Table 2: Livestock distribution in the study kebele. ................................................................... 12 Table 3: Major crops grown in the woreda. ................................................................................ 13 Table 4: Number of safety net beneficiaries in the year 2009. .................................................... 13 Table 5: Population of the study kebeles in Guraghe woreda. .................................................... 14 Table 6: Population of the study kebeles in Cheha woreda. ........................................................ 15 Table 7: Livestock population in the study kebeles in Cheha woreda. ........................................ 15 Table 8: Safety Net beneficiaries in the study kebeles in 2009. .................................................. 15 Table 9: Percentage distribution of the respondents by selected background characteristics. ...... 16 Table 10: Percentage distribution of selected household characteristics. .................................... 17 Table 11: Percentage distribution of respondents by reported participation in Idir. ..................... 22 Table 12: Percentage distribution of respondents by reported role of Idir. .................................. 23 Table 13: Percentage distribution of respondents by reported participation in pooled labor. ....... 25 Table 14: Percentage distribution of respondents by reported type of Debo involved. ................ 25 Table 15: Percentage distribution of respondents by reported benefits of the Debo. ................... 27 Table 16 Percentage distribution of respondents by reported shared groups. .............................. 29 Table 17 Percentage distribution of respondents by membership in Iqub.................................... 30 Table 19: Percentage distribution of respondents by reported type of contribution to Iqub. ........ 30 Table 20: Percentage distribution of respondents by reported role of Iqub. ................................ 30 vii Drylands Coordination Group ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It gives us immense pleasure to acknowledge the unreserved support and guidance we have received from many people and institutions during the course of writing this research report. First and foremost, we would like to express our deepest and heartfelt gratitude to the DCG for financial support, especially to Ato Abiye Alemu, the coordinator of DCG Ethiopia, for meticulous observations, unreserved input and guidance throughout the research period. The team has no words to express his patience, understanding, friendliness and forefront position, which had an extraordinary contribution to the success of the study. The team would like to thank the Hawassa University, especially Dr. Tesfaye Abebe, Director of Research and Development of Hawassa University, for facilitating the timely release of the research fund, logistics and series of follow up during the research period. Our sincere thanks are also due to all the colleagues at the institute of Environment, Gender and Development especially Ms.Yeshewafanos Kibe for actively taking part in data collection, data entry and manuscript preparation. The team viii Indigenous social institutions and their role in rural livelihoods ACRONYMS SNNPRS The Southern Nations Nationalities and Regional State FGD Focus Group Discussion GOs Governmental Organizations NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations DHS Demographic and Health Survey HFIAs Household Food Insecurity Access Scale OLS Ordinary Least Square KII Key Informant Interview HH Household ix Drylands Coordination Group ABSTRACT The study of informal social institutions has become one of the key issues among social scientists during the last two decades. A household level food shortage is one of the most significant effects of population growth and population dynamics affecting multidimensional social and economic life of household members. Close examination and analysis of these social institutions is very important not only from the household economic point of view but also because of its significant role in other livelihood aspects. This study is an empirical