Abstract
Following the design of a conservation-based agricultural development strategy and food security strategy, the Tigray government has implemented different pro-poor development programs over the past years to address the problems of food security. This study attempts to investigate the effectiveness of government policy interventions at different scales addressed to improve food security. Food security both at the regional and district level was investigated by deriving food balance sheets for the period 2000-2008. An empirical analysis based on a logit model was also employed to analyze household level food security status. The results of the logit model reveal that government policy interventions such as water harvesting schemes, employment generation schemes, and promotion of technology adoption significantly contribute to a higher likelihood of household food security status. The findings of the food balance sheet also indicate that the region has made some impressive development gains in improving regional food self-sufficiency, indicating the importance of government interventions in improving food security both at the household and regional level.
Highlights
Ethiopia is one of the most famine-prone countries with a long history of famines and food shortages
Results of our Food Balance Sheet (FBS) reveal that food requirement in the study region increased by 2.4% while the food availability improved by 7.7% (Table 1)
The self-sufficiency ratio expresses the magnitude of production in relation to domestic utilization
Summary
Ethiopia is one of the most famine-prone countries with a long history of famines and food shortages. In Ethiopia, food insecurity among the population is widespread, and most devastatingly, there have been famines that have cost the lives of about a million people. Many Ethiopians live in conditions of chronic hunger with both a low average daily energy supply (kcal/capita/day) of 1880 and a very high (44%) prevalence of undernourishment (Adnew 2004). Our study region, is one of the regions most affected by recurrent drought and food security problems. Many people live in conditions of chronic hunger with a low average energy supply (Devereux 2000a). A combination of factors has resulted in a serious problem of food insecurity. The combined problems of environmental degradation, irregular rainfall, high population pressure, recurrent cycle of drought, lack of diversification in economic activities, and institutional factors threaten food security in the region
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