Household Food Insecurity and Hunger in Selected Ethiopian Agricultural Communities: Examination of Supply and Demand Factors

Abstract

Food insecurity and hunger are major challenges in many Ethiopian communities with repercussions on health and nutrition outcomes in vulnerable household members. Depending on the context, a combination of supply and demand factors, community and institutional factors may affect household food insecurity and hunger. Our objective was to determine the degree of household food insecurity and hunger, and examine the contribution of associated contextual factors, in two rural communities of Ethiopia, namely Halaba and Zeway, located in two adjacent regions of the country (SNNPR and Oromiya Regions, respectively). A sample of 630 households were randomly selected from the two districts, and levels of food insecurity and hunger were measured using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale and Household Hunger Scale developed by Food and Nutrition Technical Assistant project (United States Agency for International Development). Multiple classification analysis was employed to explore the effects of key demand (e.g. household size, livestock) and supply (e.g. land size, wealth) factors and community (geographic location) as well as institutional (participation in food security programs) factors on food insecurity and hunger. Household food insecurity was unacceptably high in both districts (95% in Halaba & 67% in Zeway). Household hunger was 38% in Halaba and 18% in Zeway. Both food insecurity and hunger were significantly greater in Halaba (p<0.001), indicating an effect of geographic location. Both supply and demand factors were significant in determining household food insecurity and hunger (p<0.01); however, supply factors such as women's access to land, land size and wealth had greater influence than the demand factors. Levels of food insecurity and hunger in both communities were very high and of serious concern. We recommend increasing the food supply, and its subsequent accessibility, for households through enhancing women's access to land, improving income through savings and wealth accumulation, introducing more inclusive programs for women's participation and reducing household work‐burden by significantly enhancing productivity of cultivable land.Support or Funding InformationThe research was supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Department of Foreign Affairs Trade and Development (DFATD), Government of Canada, through the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF).