Climate variability induced household food insecurity coping strategy in Gambella Zuria Woreda, Southwestern, Ethiopia

Abstract

It is evident that the household food insecurity pattern in Ethiopia is seasonal and is linked to rainfall conditions and it worsens significantly after bad rainy seasons. This paper examines the determinants of food insecurity and coping strategies applied by farming households in times of food shortages caused by climate variability and extremes. Data were collected from purposively selected key informants and randomly selected 145 sample households. The USAID Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) tool was used to collect data from respondents. Temperature and rainfall data (1981–2016) were also obtained from the National Metrological Agency (NMA) of Ethiopia. Descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, percentage, coefficient of variations, and Binary logit model were used to analyze the data. The results revealed that climate extreme events, particularly floods and drought, have been affecting crop production. About 33.1% and 66.9% of sample households were food secure and insecure respectively. The model result reveals that household food security is significantly determined by the TLU of household, farmland size, age, education level, dependency ratio, and household size. Households practice six consumption strategies to cope with climate variability induced food shortages. These are eating formerly marginal foods, borrowing food or money, relying on wild food, sending household members to eat elsewhere, reducing food portions and frequency of mealtimes, and skipping meals. It is recommended that since households heavily depend on maladaptation coping mechanisms to ensure food security, the regional government should develop and implement context specific adaptation strategies.