Safety Net Program Boosts Food Security for Rural Ethiopian Households, Study Finds

A study of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Program reports that participation improved household food security in Lemo Woreda, Central Ethiopia Regional State. The research, published in Discover Food, evaluated the program’s impact on rural households using survey data collected from 124 households, split evenly between 62 program beneficiaries and 62 non-beneficiaries.

The researchers analyzed the data with both descriptive statistics and econometric methods. A Difference-in-Differences estimation indicated that the program had a positive and statistically significant impact on the food security of beneficiary households. The same analysis found that family size had a negative effect on household food security, suggesting that larger households in the study area faced greater difficulty maintaining adequate food access.

In addition to the Difference-in-Differences approach, the study employed a binary logit model to estimate the factors associated with improvement in household food security. According to the results, beneficiary households had a significantly higher probability of improving their food security than non-beneficiary households, reinforcing the finding that program participation was linked to better food security outcomes in the study population.

The study is limited to households in a single woreda and relies on a survey sample of 124 households, so the findings describe this specific study area rather than the program’s effects across Ethiopia as a whole. The authors recommend that the Productive Safety Net Program continue to be implemented, with adjustments to strengthen its contribution to household asset accumulation alongside its food security gains.

Subject of Research: The impact of Ethiopia's Productive Safety Net Program on rural household food security in Lemo Woreda

Article Title: Impact of the productive safety net program on rural household food security in Lemo Woreda, Central Ethiopia Regional State

Article References: Ergano, T. Y. (2026). Impact of the productive safety net program on rural household food security in Lemo Woreda, Central Ethiopia Regional State. Discover Food. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44187-026-01316-x

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s44187-026-01316-x

Keywords: Ethiopia, Productive Safety Net Program, food security, rural households, Lemo Woreda, Difference-in-Differences, binary logit model, household survey, Central Ethiopia, social protection, Impact, productive