Drought vulnerability perceptions and food security status of rural lowland communities: An insight from Southwest Ethiopia

Abstract

Food security is a common discourse across the globe. Drought affected Gamo rural lowland households are predisposed to food shortfalls. The study, therefore, mainly aimed to investigate the rural households' drought vulnerability perceptions and food security status in the Gamo lowlands. Primary data were obtained from 285 survey respondents, key informants, focus group discussants, agricultural professionals, and field observations. Secondary data were drawn from the published and unpublished relevant materials and complemented the primary data. A multistage sampling technique was used to select the sample respondents. Descriptive statistics, Rainfall Anomaly Index, correlation analysis, the Rasch and Logit models were used for quantitative data analysis. Discussions, narrations, and annotations were conducted to analyze the qualitative data. Multiple measures were employed to assess households' food security status. The findings showed that 53.68% of the households were food insecure in the light of the adapted Household Food Balance Model. The Household Dietary Diversity Score revealed low dietary diversity and poor nutritious quality. Food Insecurity Experience Scale showed only 13% of food security or mild food insecurity wherein 87% of the households were moderately and severely food insecure. The findings also indicated that drought hazard is a threat to communities' food security. To curb food problems, the studied households pursued strategies like selling out small animals, minimizing daily consumption frequency, reducing dietary quantity, and buying food on credit among the others. Importantly, more drought coping and food insecurity relieving strategies are recommended for all stakeholders to alleviate people's vulnerability to droughts and food insecurity.