Dr. Degefa Tolossa

By Kevin Haynes

Dr. Degefa Tolossa is a visiting Fulbright Fellow from Ethiopia co-hosted by Western Michigan University's Department of Geography and the Department of Economics. His Fulbright project is titled “Pastoralism in the Horn of Africa in the Beginning of the Twenty first Century: Reconstructing the Livelihood and Food Security Situations of the Borana," and he worked on it at WMU during the 2015 fall and 2016 spring semesters.

The project entails a holistic study encompassing how Borana pastoralists perceive themselves; assessing trends in overall livelihoods and food security over time; measuring the current food security status of pastoralists; and, exploring the relationship between pastoralist and non-pastoralist groups, and their relations with the state.

Tolossa has taught both undergraduate and graduate courses in geography and development studies and served as associate dean of Research and External Affairs and as dean for the College of Development Studies at Addis Ababa University. He holds a bachelor's and a master's degree in geography from Addis Ababa University. He undertook his Ph.D. studies in the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, focusing on rural livelihood, poverty, and food insecurity in Ethiopia.

Throughout his distinguished career, Tolossa has published extensively in the Ethiopian Journal of Development Research, Norwegian Journal of Geography, Nomadic Peoples, Quarterly International Journal of Agriculture, Environment and Urbanization, Food Science and Quality Management, East Africa Social Science Review and the Ethiopian Journal of the Social Sciences and Humanities, and the American Journal of Entrepeneurship. He has been a consultant for World Vision International, UNICEF, and the World Food Program.

At WMU, he offers seminars in geography and economics,  while working on articles about unemployment in Ethiopia; the role of urban agriculture for household food security; the contribution of remittance for diversifying household livelihoods; food security situations for people with disabilities; household food security status and its determinants; and, an analysis of long-term climate patterns in eastern and southeastern Ethiopia.

Tolossa has said he feels fortunate to be in the United States during a presidential election campaign and learning  how American democracy works. “Watching the presidential candidate debates organized by various media has given me much insight as an African scholar," said Tolossa, whose visit was sponsored by WMU professors Dr. Sisay Asefa, economics, and Dr. Benjamin Ofori-Amoah, geography. "I am very grateful for their support."