Evaluating the Food Security and Asset Accumulation Impact of Productive Safety Net Program: Evidence From Rural Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, the Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) has been implemented since 2005 in order to reduce food insecurity, protect depletion of assets, and improve the productivity of beneficiaries’ investment through the transfer of cash for food-insecure households. This study, therefore, evaluated the food security and asset accumulation impact of the program in rural Ethiopia based on primary data collected from 379 sample households in the Enebsie Sar Midir District of the Amhara region. The study has employed propensity score matching (PSM) model to achieve its objective. The results revealed that participation in PSNP has increased asset accumulation of participants by 8625 Ethiopian Birr. However, its impact on food security was found to be statistically insignificant. The result, therefore, indicates that while the program has been successful in promoting asset growth, it has not yet translated these gains into improved food security outcomes. Hence, program designers and policy makers at higher levels and funding agents and implementers at lower levels should focus on strategies that link asset accumulation with nutritional improvements and sustainable livelihood to achieve its objectives.