For a quarter-century, images of severe drought and widespread starvation have become relentlessly linked with Ethiopia. Today, food insecurity remains a defining feature of rural poverty in the country—and has actually worsened in recent years. Most vulnerable households work as subsistence farmers on small plots of degraded land, and are subject to the vicissitudes of weather. Each day, they manage hunger, extreme hardship, and multiple sources of uncertainty.

The project reached 5 million chronically food-insecure people in 2005, expanded to more than 7 million in 2006 and currently covers 7.6 million rural inhabitants. Up to 192 million paid workdays have been generated through community projects that address some of the roots of food insecurity by rehabilitating severely degraded land and creating productive community assets—such as terraced fields, feeder roads, and small-scale irrigation systems. The project played a vital role in warding off famine in 2008.

Highlights:
- Food security improved among participating households, as measured by self-reported caloric intake.
- Individual asset bases grew as project beneficiaries used their cash transfers to invest in farming inputs and livestock.
- Agricultural productivity increased, according to an impact evaluation that showed the project reinforced the government’s Household Asset Building Program by enabling participants to take risks, such as accessing credit, to boost outputs. Households benefiting from both programs experienced a 38 percent increase in maize yields.
- Community water supplies were improved through construction of conservation measures that reduced surface runoff, increased infiltration, and raised groundwater levels, thereby enhancing springs and raising stream base-flows. In several communities, springs persist longer into the dry season. The number of domestic water supplies has doubled.
- Family health benefited on two fronts. Up to 87 percent of households reported better health from access to more secure water supplies, while an estimated 73 percent reported higher incomes that allowed them to use health services more than in the previous year.

Trial by Fire: In 2008, Ethiopia faced a potentially devastating crisis from a vicious circle of drought, food shortages and high food prices. An estimated 12 million people were affected. The Productive Safety Net Program was a major part of the government’s response in rural areas. The project used its contingency budget of US$40 million to provide urgent assistance to almost 1.5 million individuals outside of the project, permitting people to survive until the next harvest. In a dire emergency, the new approach proved effective—providing a safety net for millions of Ethiopia’s rural poor.

The Productive Safety Net Program was funded by a large consortium of international donors. Phase II partners include the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (US$ 138.5 million), the European Commission (US$187.8 million), the Canadian International Development Agency (US$72.5 million), Irish Aid (US$44.2 million), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (US$23.0 million), RNE (US$ 34.8), USAID (US$314.2 million equivalent), and the World Food Program (US$25.1 million). The government of Ethiopia provided in-kind contributions through program supervision and management support.