Fasting, food, and farming: Evidence from Ethiopian producers on the link of food taboos with dairy development

Vista sencilla de ítem
dc.creatorD’Haene, Eline
dc.creatorVandevelde, Senne
dc.creatorMinten, Bart
dc.date2020-03-01
dc.date2024-05-22T12:12:37Z
dc.date2024-05-22T12:12:37Z
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-27T15:05:06Z
dc.descriptionThe impact of food taboos – often because of religion – is understudied. In Ethiopia, religious fasting by Orthodox Christians is assumed to be an important impediment for the sustainable development of a competitive dairy sector and desired higher milk consumption, especially by children. However, evidence is limited. Relying on unique data, we shed light on three major issues. First, we observe that the average annual number of fasting days that Orthodox adults are effectively adhering to is 140, less than commonly cited averages. Using this as an estimate for extrapolation, fasting is estimated to reduce annual dairy consumption by approximately 12 percent nationally. Second, farms adapt to declining milk demand during fasting by increased processing of milk into storable products – fasting contributes to larger price swings for these products. We further note continued sales of milk by non-remote farmers and reduced production – by adjusting lactation times for dairy animals – for remote farmers. Third, fasting is mostly associated with increased milk consumption by the children of dairy farmers, seemingly because of excess milk availability during fasting periods. Our results suggest that fasting habits are not a major explanation for the observed poor performance of Ethiopia’s dairy sector nor low milk consumption by children. To reduce the impact of fasting on the dairy sector in Ethiopia further, investment is called for in improved milk processing, storage, and infrastructure facilities.
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/143225
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/94053
dc.languageen
dc.publisherInternational Food Policy Research Institute
dc.publisherFederal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Policy Studies Institute
dc.relationhttps://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.134764
dc.rightsOpen Access
dc.sourceD’Haene, Eline; Vandevelde, Senne; and Minten, Bart. 2020. Fasting, food, and farming: Evidence from Ethiopian producers on the link of food taboos with dairy development. ESSP Working Paper 141. Washington, DC; and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); and Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Policy Studies Institute. https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133709.
dc.subjectmilk production
dc.subjectvalue chains
dc.subjectmilk products
dc.subjectdairy farming
dc.subjectmilk
dc.subjectfasting
dc.subjectfarmers
dc.subjectfood consumption
dc.subjectfood prices
dc.titleFasting, food, and farming: Evidence from Ethiopian producers on the link of food taboos with dairy development
dc.typeWorking Paper

Archivos

Colecciones

Instituto Internacional de Investigación sobre Políticas Alimentarias (IFPRI)