Food Insecurity Experience among Pastoralist Community in South Omo, Ethiopia: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Food insecurity is a global challenge, particularly in developing country like Ethiopia, which is aggravated by a lack of adequate food availability, rapid population growth and COVID-19; it has serious consequences for the health and well-being of adults and children. Although several studies have been conducted in central and agrarian communities, there is little evidence of studies on food insecurity in the most remote communities like Southern Omo. This study aimed to assess the contributing factors and coping strategies related to food insecurity among rural agro pastoralist community. A descriptive qualitative study was conducted in southern Ethiopia. A total of 18 in-depth interview participants were interviewed and moreover 5 focus group discussions were conducted in total of 53 pregnant women, until data saturations. Field notes were taken and voice recoded during each sessions. The information were transcribed verbatim and analyzed, thematically supported by Atlas ti 7 software. The findings were presented in theme, sub-theme and category with quote. The study confirmed that, there is an important contributing factors affecting food security such as: drought, rain shortage, climate change, food sources always from purchasing, food aid community, living within a pastoralist community, poor soil fertility, Omo river not used for irrigation, conflict between ethnic group, increment of population number, and unavailable guideline were the main contributing factors for household food insecurity. Moreover, in-depth interview and FGD participants provided their opinion on household food insecurity coping strategies like selling cow/goat and buying maize powder, eating uncommon tree (“negode”), getting help from food aid, access of safety net, borrowing food/crops from neighboring (“kebele”) ethnic families, eating unacceptable leaves and branches, selling fire wood and grass in town and doing labor work at town. The study findings confirmed that, drought, rain shortage, climate change, poor soil fertility, and lack of irrigation system for productions that affect food security. Therefore, policy makers and local agricultural authority recommended to build resilient, advanced, and context based agriculture system to overcome aforementioned factors in pastoralist community.