Determinants of Agro-pastoral Households' Livelihood Diversification Strategies in Awbare District, Fafan Zone of Somali State, Ethiopia

Abstract

Pastoralism and agro-pastoralism with extensive livestock production are the dominant livelihood sources for the Somali regional State's population. However, recent decades marked with climatic shocks such as recurrent drought have negatively impacted livestock production and forced many pastorals and agro-pastoral households to face livelihood crises. To cope with this situation, seeking alternative livelihood sources become inevitable. The objective of this study was to assess the determinants of agro-pastoral household's livelihood diversification strategies in Awbare district, Fafan zone of the Somali State, Ethiopia. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to capture the necessary data, and 153 respondents were randomly selected from the agro-pastoral population using a semi-structured questionnaire, focus group discussion, and key informant interview. Descriptive and inferential statistics such as ANOVA and chi-square and Multinomial logistic model were used to identify determinants factors. The study has revealed that 45.1% of the surveyed agro-pastoral households were engaging livelihood diversification of non-farm, off-farm, and farm+non-farm+off-farm whereas the rest of 54.90% of the respondents were unable to diversify and were practicing only farm activities. The multinomial regression model has identified that the educational status, farm size, use of agricultural farm input, and total annual income of the households were positively associated with the likelihood of engaging livelihood diversification strategies. In contrast, the age, dependent ratio, and access for credit use were negatively associated with the likelihood of livelihood diversification. In conclusion, livelihood diversification among Awbare agro-pastoralists was low due to underlying factors like education and income, and enchasing these factors could improve their livelihood asset. The study suggests that the future policy toward pastoral and agro-pastoralist should consider these factors.