RT Dissertation/Thesis
T1 Governance challenges of developing biomass-based value webs : the case of maize in Ethiopia 
A1 Mengistu,Tilahun Woldie
WP 2019/01/28
AB In recent years, the need to move from an economy based on fossil resources to an economy based on biological resources has gained increasing attention. The bioeconomy has the potential to ensure sustainable growth by enhancing the usage of untapped biomass resources. This potential is particularly pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa and has attracted the attention of both governments and the international donor community. To use the potential of the bioeconomy in a sustainable way without jeopardizing food security, it is essential to increase the productivity and the efficiency of the production and utilization of biomass. Using the maize production in Ethiopia as a case study, this thesis aims to identify strategies that will contribute to a higher productivity and better utilization of biomass in the emerging bioeconomy. Maize has been selected for this case study because it is on one the one hand a major food crop in Africa while it has, on the other hand, the potential to provide biomass for multiple uses in the bioeconomy. Ethiopia is well suited for the case study because it is confronted with major challenges of food security, while it has at the same time a large underutilized potential to increase the production of biomass for the bioeconomy. 
The thesis focuses on two themes: One is an analysis of the seed system, because maize seed supply has been identified as a major bottleneck to increasing productivity in the production of biomass. Ethiopias seed sector has been plagued with problems of seed quality regulation, certification, dominance of informal seed sourcing, and inefficient distribution system, among other governance challenges. There have been major reform efforts in recent years, but there is not sufficient empirical evidence on how these reforms have fared. The second theme to the thesis is the utilization of the biomass from maize. This topic has been selected because there is a dearth of empirical evidence on the usage of the different components of maize (e.g. cob, stalk, leaves etc.) for several purposes, and its implications for household food security. 
Against this background, the broad objective of this thesis is threefold: (1) to analyze the institutional arrangements for maize seed quality regulation, and uncover the governance challenges therein; (2) to identify the governance challenges in the hybrid maize seed distribution system and analyze farmers’ preferences of the select attributes for hybrid seed distribution; and (3) to assess usages of the different components of maize biomass, and examine its implications for food security.  
The thesis is based on a mixed methods approach. Data were collected using both qualitative and quantitative techniques. The study of seed quality regulation relies primarily on qualitative data collected through Process Net-Maps, focus group discussions, key informant interviews and direct observation in three maize growing districts. For the second and third objectives, data were collected using household survey and a choice experiment covering 325 farmers, Process Net-Maps, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. We employ the latent class and endogenous switching regression models to analyze the choice experiment data on farmers’ preference for the distribution attributes and effect of farmers’ diverse biomass use decision on food security, respectively. 
The findings of the thesis contribute to the wider debates on governance and institutional challenges of ensuring food security through development of the bioeconomy, taking maize as an important bioeconomy crop. By investigating the roles of different stakeholders in the seed system, the study finds that the systems suffer from a number of governance and institutional challenges such as corruption, implementation gaps that arise due to capacity limitation and lack of political will to support private sector participation. The study suggests ways to overcome the governance challenges, which include enhancing internal as well as external quality control mechanisms, redefining certification standards, making certification services transparent, participatory and cost-effective, and a strong political will to fully implement reforms by promoting private sector participation. Additionally, the positive and homogeneous preferences for attributes like seed quality, types of sales outlets and access to credit that are shared by the majority of the surveyed farmers’ show the extent to which reform outcomes deviated from the needs of farmers. The study identified farmers’ preferences regarding the question of how they would like to access hybrid seeds and recommends ways to overcome the governance challenges in seed distribution in Ethiopia.  
In addition to examining problems regarding production, the study confirmed that maize biomass utilization is crucial for food security and development of bioeconomy. The findings show that maize biomass is underutilized in the country because of lack of enabling conditions such as access to extension and information, marketing channels, availability of multi-purposes maize varieties and value-adding technologies. The findings led to the recommendation that policy innovation to provide better access to these conditions is essential to achieve growth in the maize sector and food security.
K1 Bioökonomie
K1  Biomasse
K1 Mais
PP Hohenheim
PB Kommunikations-, Informations- und Medienzentrum der Universität Hohenheim
UL http://opus.uni-hohenheim.de/volltexte/2019/1543