article · Agricultural and Food Economics
An assessment of household food insecurity in the Assosa zone of western Ethiopia reveals an incidence rate of 53.62 percent, with food-insecure households consuming an average of 1440.37 kilocalories per adult equivalent per day. Analysis shows that larger family sizes, older household heads, and reliance on off-farm or non-farm income correspond to increased food insecurity. Conversely, access to irrigation, farm income, distance to market, and credit access reduce the extent of food insecurity. When confronting food shortages, households primarily cope by reducing meal sizes, cutting the frequency of daily meals, engaging in casual daily labour, and selling livestock. Addressing these challenges requires building household capacities through enhanced access to physical, financial, and human capital, specifically focusing on credit access and irrigation resources.
Understanding the direct drivers of rural hunger helps policymakers, development agencies, and planners allocate resources effectively. By identifying specific pressure points such as household size and protective factors such as irrigation and formal credit, interventions can be targeted precisely. This evidence aids in strengthening vulnerable rural communities against recurring agricultural shocks and severe nutritional deficits.
The abstract does not indicate a direct commercial application pathway or product development opportunity, as it focuses on socioeconomic survey research and public policy interventions. However, the identified protective factors highlight potential demand among rural households for smallholder irrigation technologies, microcredit platforms, and livestock asset management services, though these opportunities remain at an early, exploratory stage.
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This study analyzed households’ food insecurity and its determinants along with the coping mechanisms opted against food insecurity and shortage in Assosa zone, western Ethiopia. The study used a primary data collected from 276 randomly selected households for 7 consecutive days from each sample using weighed records method. In addition, focus group discussions and key informants interview were also used. This study employed descriptive statistics, food insecurity index and Tobit model to analyze the data. The finding of the study revealed that, in the study area, the incidence of food insecurity was 53.62%, with the depth and severity of food insecurity being 16.84% and 7.32%, respectively. The study finding also pointed out that the mean kilocalorie intake of food insecure households was 1440.37kcal/AE/day, with the minimum and maximum being 597.65 kcal and 2048.13 kcal, respectively. Furthermore, the estimated Tobit model result revealed that age of the household head, family size and off-farm and non-farm income positively affected extent of households food insecurity; whereas access to irrigation, farm income, distance to market and access to credit negatively affected the extent of households’ food insecurity. Moreover, the study also identified that reducing meal size, reducing frequency of meal served, working as a daily laborer and selling livestock’s were the top four main coping mechanisms opted against food insecurity and/or shortage. Therefore, to reverse the incidence, future interventions should focus on the aforementioned factors to build the capacity of households through enhancing their access to human, financial and physical capital.
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DOI: 10.1186/s40100-019-0124-x
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