1. SPIR II RFSA | 2023 Learning Event
Setting the stage: Evolution of the PSNP
Harold Alderman, IFPRI

2. Rethinking Famine Response
In response to the massive famine in 2002/3 Ethiopia marshalled
assistance from the WFP, the World Bank, and bilateral donors
While this was successful in prevented extensive excess mortality,
the government determined that the frequent declarations of
emergencies - of which the 2002 appeal was an example - was
undesirable
Thus, the government established three commissions to study i)
food insecurity; ii) agricultural productivity; and iii) the possibility
of resettling farmers
The first of these outlined the principles that underscore the PSNP

3. PSNP innovations that are now common across the
continent
At the time it was decided to set up an extensive safety net there was
no similar program in the region. Only one country, South Africa,
had a program at the scale envisioned but that was not suited to
address the food insecurity that was prevalent in rural Ethiopia.
It took well over a year from the time the decision to establish an
extensive safety net was made to determine the key features of the
program
Much of that period was devoted to donor coordination aligning the
procedures of different aid agencies within a single national
strategy
One aspect of this process was establishing the mixture of cash and
in-kind support. Another was determining the nature of the targeted
public works and the community-led asset creation

4. Key Features of PSNP-1
The program was designed be:
 Protective, to prevent poor households from depleting assets in
when facing shocks
 Productive, mainly in terms of attention to the planning and
logistics of community asset creation
 Predictable, as indicated by the multi-year planning which was to
replace ad hoc, albeit frequent, emergency appeals
Initially, the PSNP did not, however, include any explicit measures to
address malnutrition

5. Adapting the PSNP over two decades
Initial evaluations of PSNP-1 found that the program protected food security
but had little impact on productivity growth. That is, it succeeded at
mitigation of shocks, but was less successful at promotion of livelihoods
Graduation was a goal, but it was addressed with ad hoc measures and
often in a manner not consistent with the principal of a predictable
support
This initially prompted a loose coordination with the Other Food Security
Programme and, subsequently, the inclusion of livestock grants and
financial mediation within the PSNP umbrella
PSNP-2 added measures for contingency financing to make the program
more flexible. Some pastoral areas also entered the program
Wages were increased in response to the 2008 food price spike, but that
experience also affirmed the role of in-kind payments, particularly in
remote areas.

6. Adding Nutrition into the PSNP
While cash grants for pregnant and lactating women were included in the
initial PSNP, there were few guidelines and grants were seldom offered
Additionally, the Food Security Bureau responsible for the PSNP did not see
offering nutrition services as their mandate
Moreover, even by the time of PSNP-2 the GoE did not have a national
nutrition strategy. However, the Food Security Bureau was eventually
represented in the drafting of that strategy
While nutritional status of preschoolers improved considerably between 2003
and 2013 no unique impact of the PSNP was observed
Accordingly, PSNP-4 [2015-2020] added explicit guidelines for nutrition
including co-responsibility for grant recipients (attending BCC) and
inclusion of clinics and sanitation in public works.
However, these, too, did not lead to improved nutritional status.

7. One line summary of the legacy of the PSNP
The PSNP has been a model for the region, showing that
governments have the capacity to offer safety nets to the
most vulnerable populations that can achieve meaningful
additional to public infrastructure, but protecting the poor
from shocks is not, by itself, sufficient to overcome poverty
traps or barriers to adequate nutrition.