Determinates of Employment Generation through Urban Agriculture: The Case of Bishoftu Area of Oromia Region, Ethiopia

Abstract

Agriculture is as an important tool to create urban employment and improve urban livelihood. In light of this, this paper attempted to look at the status and employment contributions.  To meet this objective, both secondary and primary data were collected. To analyze the data, both descriptive and inferential techniques were applied. The result indicated that various types of urban farming such as; poultry, fattening, dairy, fruit and vegetable, nursery and ornamental crops, flowers has extensively been found in the city. The result further showed that the sector has played multiple roles to the farmers such as; a means of income generation, employment and household food supplement. Though the result stated that both form of urban farms contributes to employment generation, those organized by SME has created more jobs (average of 5.6) than that of household level farms (average jobs created were 1.76). Moreover, the result of MLR model estimation for employment contribution by household farm indicated that, the average number of fulltime workers used by the farm was significantly influenced by those farmer respondents having the perception of a better credit and inputs access, land access and ownership, holding diploma and above educational level, better farm income and engagement in poultry and dairy farms. In addition to its role to urban farmers’, urban agriculture has played a enormous role in supplying; fresh products to the city dwellers, raw materials to agro processing industries and market to their products.

Keywords: Employment, Urban agriculture (UA), Enterprises