Determinants of Food Insecurity of Smallholder Farmers in Humbo Woreda

Abstract

Food insecurity is a worldwide growing concern. According to the 2010 State of Food Insecurity report of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO), nearly one billion people are estimated to be under- nourished, of which developing nations account for 98% (UNFAO2010). Demeke et.al (1995) pointed out that, despite many efforts, food insecurity is still a prominent feature of Ethiopia. Half of the food insecure population of the Sub Saharan Africa is found in Ethiopia, which is one of the seven food insecure country in Sub Sahara Africa. The food insecurity situation in the Humbo woreda, Wolaita zone of Ethiopia shares similar features with that of the other regions (WVE, 2007). The problem of food insecurity has wide diversity and multiple dimensions, which ranges from the global to individual level. Nevertheless, variability, complexity and interrelated causes of household food insecurity and local responses during crisis require an analysis to move down to a household level. It is with regard to this that this study began with the primary objective of analyzing the determinants of household food insecurity of smallholder farmers in Humbo Woreda Southern Nation Nationality People Regional State. To achieve this objective, primary data were collected from a sample of farm households in the Woreda through a structured questionnaire. A total of 183 farm households’ cases were included in the final analysis. In addition, secondary data were collected from different organizations and pertinent publications in order to elaborate the present situation of the food insecurity status in the study area. Logit model was used to identify and analyze the effect of explanatory variables on the dependent variable. A total of twelve explanatory variables were included in the regression. Out of these, six variables were found to be significant in terms of food insecurity. The variables that have a significant relationship with the probability of food insecurity are: Use of Chemical Fertilizer, Use of irrigation, Land Size, Livestock Size, Food Aid, and Farm Credit Use. The rest of the explanatory variables, namely age, sex, education level, family size, dependency ratio, and other sources of income, had no significant effect on the probability of food insecurity. Therefore, consideration of these factors is vital as it provides information that would enable one to undertake effective measures with the aim of improving food security status in the study area. Keywords: Food insecurity, logit , Humbo woreda, smallholder farmers DOI : 10.7176/JPID/50-01 Publication date :June 30 th 2019