Impact of productive safety net program in rural community of Ethiopia: A review study

Abstract

Ethiopia lunched Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) as social protection program since 2005 to tackle the causes of food insecurity. Even though, the country lunched the PSNP there are different challenges that hinder proper implementation of program for attaining intended impact on rural community. This paper seeks to review the impact of Ethiopia’s PSNP and its implementation challenges through qualitative approach. Different literatures were reviewed on PSNP, which were done at national, regional and district level. The literatures were obtained through internet search from Google, Google scholar and database. Among 84 papers retrieved, only 28 of the published and unpublished organization reports, research reports and policy briefs were reviewed based on their relevance to the topic. According to the review, there are irreconcilable results regarding to the impacts of PSNP. Accordingly, PSNP has both positive and negative impact on beneficiaries’ social, economic and environmental development. Thus, before implementation, the government should consider social, economic, environmental issues and available resources. Therefore, concerned bodies should consider impact of the PSNP and family support on the beneficiaries’ livelihood, and they should depend on panel data. Key words: Challenges, Ethiopia, impact, Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP), social protection.