Policy Brief

Rural Non-Farm Enterprises Dynamics and Youth Employment Challenges in Ethiopia IFAD – 50X2030 Initiative Research Brief In Ethiopia the contribution of the rural non-farm enterprise (RNFE) sector to employment and income has increased overtime, and this contribution is unlikely to diminish in the future given that rural businesses will be needed to support the job creation and hence livelihood to the growing number of youths who do not have access to farming land. However, the…

Cross-Border Infrastructure Cooperation in the Horn of Africa (HoA) Region -------------------------------------------------------------------- Regional infrastructure is defined as any type of infrastructure that enables economic agents (e.g. firms, households) to connect with regional or international market along a defined route (ODI, 2016). Efficient regional transport connectivity increase linkage with global supply chains and distribution networks, thereby lowering transaction costs, raising value added and enhancing competitiveness of a region. Regional power interconnection allows access to reliable and competitive…

Food Security, Climate Challenges and Resilience Building in the Horn of Africa (HoA) -------------------------------------------------------------------- Food insecurity is one of the major challenges in the Horn of Africa (HoA). It is becoming structural through time as most of the poor are concentrated in the arid and semi-arid ecosystems and, as a result of population growth, have been forced to cultivate increasingly marginal land more intensively. This coupled with low level of diversification into non-farm economic activities…

Regional Integration & Trade Development in the HoA: Progress and Challenges -------------------------------------------------------------------- Throughout the world, regional integration agenda has been of high priority, as the UN Sustainable Development Goals explicitly stated  trade  related  measures and  economic cooperation as instruments to eradicate global poverty (UN General Assembly, 2015). The various  goals under SDG call for correcting trade restrictions and distortions in global agricultural markets, increasing aid for trade support for developing countries, especially for low income…

Sustainable Financing for Trade and Investment in the Horn of Africa (HoA) Region -------------------------------------------------------------------- The fast-growing global interdependence in trade and investment and the ensuing fiercer market competitions have changed the way economic development is pursued and assessed. Identifying and maintaining comparative advantages based on endowments, such as natural resources and specializing along those lines is not sufficient. It has become imperative to create new comparative advantages in trade and investment to adapt them to…