Ethiopia Productive Safety Net Programme

Summary

Ethiopia's Productive Safety Net Programme is one of the largest social protection programs in sub-Saharan Africa and among the most thoroughly evaluated. The quasi-experimental evaluation found meaningful improvements in food security, asset accumulation, and drought resilience — effects that are particularly important in a context where annual food insecurity affected tens of millions. The programme's combination of cash transfers with public works infrastructure (roads, water harvesting, soil conservation) addressed immediate consumption needs and created local productive assets simultaneously. The pipeline design allowed before-after and matched comparisons, though selection into early vs. late receipt limits causal inference. The programme became a template for social protection scale-up across the continent.

Research question

"Does a large-scale cash-and-food transfer with public works component improve food security, asset accumulation, and resilience for chronically food-insecure households?"

Methodology

Result

Positive

Months of adequate food: +1.8 months/year; asset index: +0.14 SD; proportion selling assets in drought year: −9 pp; income diversification: improved

Evidence strength

Moderate

Quasi-experimental design; causal interpretation requires care.

Replication status

Partially replicated