Abstract
The green famine belt of Ethiopia is customarily viewed as food secure area only due to relatively adequate rainfall and green vegetation cover. In contrast, this paper argues and shows that the food insecurity condition termed as “green famine” has always existed in the belt. Accordingly, the paper examined the extent and severity of food insecurity based on a cross-sectional survey of 220 households in Belo-jiganfoy district. A structured questionnaire was employed to collect data. A household food balance model was used to determine the food insecurity status and then to compute the head count ratio and food shortfalls index for determining the extent and severity of food insecurity respectively. The result showed that food insecurity was widespread and deep-rooted. The head count ratio showed that about 72% of the surveyed households were food insecure. The food shortfall index showed that on average households were 48% far below the food security threshold. The household food insecurity access prevalence showed that about 62% of the respondents were food insecure at different levels of severity: 21% mildly, 23% moderately, and 18% severely food insecure. Small-scale irrigation, wage labor, family size, land size, livestock, off-farm income and household head education were significant determinants of food insecurity. Therefore, it is safe to conclude that the extent and severity of food insecurity in the green famine belt is at best similar with, and at worst more than, the situation in the drought-prone and non-green famine areas of Ethiopia. Key words: Food insecurity, extent, severity, determinants, Western Ethiopia.
Highlights
Food security is defined as “food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”(Canali and Slaviero, 2010)
Households that face food shortages on a permanent basis are termed as chronically food insecure (Degefa, 2005) while those who face it when hit by disasters or shocks are termed as transitorily food insecure; and when transitory food shortages are cyclical, it is termed as cyclical or seasonal food insecurity (Brown and Amdissa, 2007)
The study showed that food insecurity was widespread and deep-rooted
Summary
Food security is defined as “food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”(Canali and Slaviero, 2010). In Ethiopia, chronically poor and food insecure people are found throughout the country these characteristics are used to define the conditions of drought-prone areas. Food insecurity in Western Ethiopia in general and in Benishangul-gumuz region in particular is generally seasonal and/or transitory in nature (BGR 2004). Close field observations reveal chronic nature of food insecurity for the majority of the households in the region. Assessment of CIDA‟s Food Security Strategy and Funding in Ethiopia; Canadian Food Security Policy Group, Ethiopia; Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Washington, DC, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance Project (FANTA), Version 3
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