The effects of farmland conversion on livelihood assets in peri-urban areas of Addis Ababa Metropolitan city, the case of Akaki Kaliti sub-city, Central Ethiopia

Livelihood assets have been greatly influenced by the transformation of farmlands in peri-urban areas. The objective of this study is to analyze the effects of farmland conversion to access livelihood assets in peri-urban areas of Akaki-Kaliti Sub-city, Central Ethiopia. Required data were collected from survey households, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions. A cross-sectional survey research design was employed to collect information from 329 peri-urban households selected using a snowballing sampling technique. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. The results revealed that the conversion of farmland has negatively affected the overall livelihood assets in the study area. Besides, the effects on financial assets were considerable. However, the effects on physical and human assets were not significant. Natural asset shows a substantial decline followed by social and physical assets. However, financial and human assets show a slight decline. In general, conversions in farmlands have negatively influenced households' access to livelihood assets in the study area. Therefore, intervention is required to reduce the effects of farmland conversion and enhance the livelihoods of land-lost farmers in the peri-urban areas.