Determining Food Security Indicators at Household Level in Drought Prone Areas of the Amhara Region of Ethiopia: The Case of Lay Gaint District, Amhara Regional State.

Abstract

An area exposed to drought and food insecurity and where many people are suffering to get the minimum daily consumption, identifying the population sub-groups or households frequently affected by chronic and/or transitory food security have paramount importance for policy trust. The general objective of the study was to identify food secure and insecure households and map the food insecure agro-ecological zones using indicators in drought prone areas of the Amhara region by using Lay Gaint district as a case study site. Questionnaire survey, in-depth interview and focus group discussions were the major data collection techniques and both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis were employed. The major variables used for the study includes income, expenditure, dietary diversity, coping strategy and dietary energy. The results of the study showed that sampled households in the study area were prone to food insecurity. The per capita kcal result confirms that around 80% of the sampled households were food insecure. HDDS showed that sample households were severely constrained in dietary diversity and were highly dependent on only two food groups (cereals and pulses). The results of kcal intake, DDS and food gap analysis showed that Woina-Dega and Kolla agro-ecological zones were the most food insecure zones in the study district. The result evidenced that food availability is a serious problem in the study area that needs enhancing crop production through the application of agricultural inputs. Moreover non-farm activities that supplement the agricultural income have to be given top priority to minimize severe cash constraints of the study households. Keywords : Income, expenditure, dietary diversity, coping strategy, dietary energy, Ethiopia