Rural household resilience to food insecurity in Majang Zone, Southwestern Ethiopia

Abstract

Background Due to shocks and stressors brought on by both natural and man-made events, households that depend on subsistence agriculture frequently experience uncertainty about guaranteeing their food security. The modern strategy for achieving food security in the face of shocks depends on identifying the variables that affect resilience and working to increase rural households’ capacity to withstand shocks related to food insufficiency. The goal of this study was to evaluate how resilient households were to food insecurity and its determinants. Methods From primary and secondary sources, cross-sectional data of both quantitative and qualitative types were gathered. The data acquired through surveys from 320 households was analyzed using a multivariate analytical method that included principal component analysis (PCA) and OLS regression. To bolster the findings, data from focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs) was substantially utilized. Results According to the findings of the analysis, 40% and 60% of households, respectively, become resilient and non-resilient. All but the stability parameter significantly impacted resilience. Resilience to food insecurity is significantly increased by an increase of 2.128, 1.697, 0.648, 0.363, and 0.158 units in the adoption of agricultural technology, asset ownership, access to essential services, and adaptive capacity, respectively. On the other hand, the stability dimension negatively impacts resilience, with each additional unit lowering households’ capacity for resilience by 0.155 units. Conclusions The study suggests that to reduce both short-term and long-term shocks and stresses of food insecurity and to increase the capacity for resilience, the government’s policies and programs and those of other development partners must focus on building the main components of resilience.