The topic of Caloric Energy Balance was discussed in small groups during a recent workshop to develop a curriculum for including value chain evaluations in Ethiopia’s academic extension education program. One participant, who has a background in food science, excelled at the assignment. While the study is for casual laborers because it is the simplest way to make the initial analysis using consumer pricing, the farmer’s subsistence stocks would be similar. The most common figure for maize subsistence stock is around 200 kg/adult/year, which would provide a daily diet of 550 g/day and 2000 kcal/day as the primary source of calories to be supplemented with other foods and would provide a daily diet of 550 g/day and 2000 kcal/day as the primary source of calories to be supplemented with other foods. It was able to generate an estimate of a typical smallholder based on the farmers’ comments that they had to spend two hours in the morning and another two hours in the afternoon caring for their livestock during the same farmer discussions. Because Ethiopia lies in the tropics, with virtually constant 12 hours of sunshine and 12 hours of darkness throughout the year, the work day can remain reasonably stable throughout the year. Animal care will take precedence over crop management during the day, since they must be watered, fed, or transported to a location where they can graze for the day before being returned to the homestead for the night. These animal tasks cannot be avoided or postponed in any significant way.
