The Effect of HIV/AIDS Driven Labor Organization on Agrobiodiversity: an Empirical Study in Ethiopia

Improved micronutrient intake contributes to delaying the progression of HIV into AIDS and to reducing HIV infection rates. Higher agrobiodiversity in the homegarden contributes to improving the nutritional status of farm households. Farm households with HIV/AIDS affected members observe a decrease in labor supply and productivity causing them to reallocate labor. The reallocation of labor may result in change in agrobiodiversity. Sharecropping is often used to alleviate labor shortage in agricultural production. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the implications of HIV/AIDS on agrobiodiversity through sharecropping arrangements. The study is based on a survey among 205 farm households in the Jimma zone of South Western Ethiopia. Results show that HIV/AIDS driven increase in sharecropping has a positive effect on perennial and overall agrobiodiversity in the homegarden. This offers additional intervention options to mitigate the impacts of HIV/AIDS among farm households