Determinants of food insecurity in food aid receiving communities in Ethiopia

Abstract

This study analyzed households' food security and its determinants along with the coping mechanisms opted against food insecurity while assessing the food security interventions in southern Ethiopia. Combination of emergency and project food aids are the two major intervention strategies enforced to alleviate food insecurity in the area. The results from descriptive statistics show that 74.17% of the surveyed households were food insecure. The logit model result revealed that sex, age, education level of household head, family size and access to remittance were significant factors that affect the status of household's food security. Finally, empowering women, fair aid targeting on older households, strengthening formal and informal education, awareness creation on effective family planning and reducing the dependency syndrome and encouraging entrepreneurship were identified to factors that potentially improve food security on the households. • Food aid cannot achieve food security by itself. • Some of the food aid is stolen and sold in the market place. • Cash for work provides employment opportunities and generate public goods. • Food aid program participation had an association with social connection. • Prolonged aid-dependency results loss of skills and aspiration failure.