Determinants of Household Food Insecurity among Pastoral and Agro Pastoral Communities in Ethiopia: Evidence From Afar Region (Awsa zone)

Abstract

This study attempts to estimate the food insecurity status and identify the major determinants of food insecurity in pastoral and agro pastoral household in awsa zone, afar region: Ethiopia. Multi stage sampling technique was used to select representative sample households and Survey data were collected from 200 sample household heads. The study used both primary and secondary data sources. Primary data was collected through structured questionnaire and focus group discussion while Secondary data was collected from reviewing of various documents related to food insecurity. Descriptive statistics, foster gear Thorbecke (FGT) indices and binary logistic econometrics model was used to analyze the collected data. It was found that about 62 percent of the sampled households were food insecure and 38 percent were food secure. The FGT indices revealed that the incidence, depth and severity of food insecurity are found to be 62 percent, 18 percent and, 7.16 percent respectively. The results of the regression analysis showed sex(male) of household head, marital status(married) of the household head, literacy of household head, livestock holding, cultivated land size and food aid were negatively associated with household food insecurity while, family size per adult equivalent positively affecting household food insecurity. The most severe coping strategies employed by households during food deficit were dropping children out of school, sale of fire wood, wood for construction and charcoal, selling long lasting household assets, slaughtering small animals for household consumption and exchange of small animals to cereals. Generally the findings of the study suggests that there is a need to improve their educational level by bringing education intervention programs and to improve livestock production and productivity through provision of veterinary drug services, sustainable forage development programs, improving the capacity of community animal health workers and a need to Provide aids (food or in kind) in a way that could be assisted households to fully stand on their own. Moreover, it is recommended that the Government together with its development partners have to plan and implement a long term and sustainable solutions and design welfare monitoring system for the pastoral and agro pastoral community in order to reduce the existing high level of food insecurity and to reduce households dependency on food aid grants.