Regional Workshop and Dissemination Activity on Poverty and Food Insecurity in Ethiopia

This proposal is for sponsorship of a regional/local workshop on food security and poverty in Ethiopia, as well as the preparation of a special issue of a journal based on the workshop papers (see Barrett et al 2006). Although the papers will be submitted for peer review before the April, 2007 deadline established by the funding sponsor, the Broadening Access to Markets and Input Systems-Collaborative Research Support Program (BASIS-CRSP) based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, it is recognized that final publication of the journal issue will not take place until after that date. The activity does not propose any primary data collection and papers will be based on existing literature and data. It is proposed that that the workshop will be held in Ethiopia's Amhara Regional State, either in Dessie or Bahir Dar town, and will be directed to regional and zonal-level researchers and policy makers. A pre-workshop visit will be taken by the US Workshop Director in August/September, 2006 to work with Ethiopian counterparts to fmalize the selection of the workshop site and the workshop agenda. It is proposed that the workshop will be held over a three-day period in January 2007. The overall objectives of the workshop will be to (l) disseminate research results and policy findings to local and regional policy makers and collaborators; (2) prepare papers and summary briefs (8) for the workshop that can serve as the basis for a special issue of the journal; and (3) support the preparation of research papers by our Ethiopian colleagues.