REVIEW ON DETERMINANTS OF HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY IN ETHIOPIA

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE

DEPARTMENT NATURAL RESOURES MANAGEMENT

SENIOR SEMINAR PAPER ON

REVIEW ON DETERMINANTS OF HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY IN

ETHIOPIA

BY: ALEMU SHITU ID:AGR/R/270/10

SUBMITTED TO COLLEGE WOLAITA SODO UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF

AGRICULTURE, DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT, WOLAITA SODO UNIVERSITY
 INTRODUCTION

• Ethiopia is one of the world’s poorest countries with indicators suggesting low
levels of development. Many Ethiopians live in conditions of chronic hunger with
both a low average daily energy supply .
•
• The backbone of its economy has been predominantly the agriculture sector
when judging from the point of view of the people’s occupation, its
contribution to GDP, export of commodities and orientation of the industries.
•
• The country is endowed with natural resources, 60% of the land mass known
to have a good potential for agricultural development. Out of this potentially
cultivable land only 15% is known to have been developed.
 Objective of the seminar

General objective of the seminar

• To review the determinants of households food security in Ethiopia
REVIEW ON DETERMINANTS OF HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY IN
ETHIOPIA

• Concepts and Definitions of Food Security

• Food security is defined in different ways by international organizations and
researchers. World Food Summit, when the definition was broadly set as achieving
food security “at the individual, household, national, regional and global levels
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” (FAO,2010). Currently, a synthesis of these definitions, with the
main emphasis on availability, access, and utilization, serves as working definition
in the projects of international organizations.
• food security defined as access by all people at all times to enough food for an
active, healthy life .
• Gradually, the concept of food security took on a more subjective meaning than at
the outset, integrating the quality and diversity of needs from one individual to
another, respect for local.
• eating habits beyond a purely quantitative approach. Food security is a
multidisciplinary concept, which includes economic, political, demographic, social,
cultural and technical aspects.
 Concepts and Definitions of Food Insecurity:

• Food insecurity is defined as a condition in which people lack the basic food intake
necessary to provide them with the energy and nutrients required for fully
productive lives. It can either be temporary (transitory food insecurity) or
continuous (chronic food insecurity) .
• Food insecurity, on the other hand, is a situation that exists when people lack
secure access to sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious food required for normal
growth and development and an active and healthy life .
• It is a dynamic phenomenon: its impact varies depending on its duration, its
severity, and the local socioeconomic and environmental conditions .
• Food Availability Decline approach explains that famine or food shortage occurs
when there is an aggregate decline in food supply. According to this approach
people starve because of a local, national or regional decline in food availability to
a level below the minimum requirement for survival.
• Food insecurity affects people who cannot access adequate food (e.g. because of
poverty) irrespective of food availability food insecurity can occur even if food
supplies are adequate and markets are functioning
 Types of food insecurity:

I. transitory (when it occurs in times of crisis),

II. seasonal or chronic (when it occurs on a continuing
basis).
• Chronic food insecurity means that a household runs a
continually high risk of inability to meet the food needs
of household members. In contrast, transitory food
insecurity occurs when a household faces a temporary
decline in security of its entitlement and the risk of
failure to meet food needs is of a short duration.
Transitory food-insecurity focuses on intra and tine-
annual variations in household food access.
• Transitory food-insecurity focuses on intra and
tine-annual variations in household food
access. It has been argued that this category
can be further divided into cyclical and
temporary food insecurity
Factors that causes food insecurity

• The factors that cause food insecurity are wide

and vary from place to place but in this
literature the following major causes will be
discussed,
 i. Population growth:

• Population pressure has become a factor in

accelerating food insecurity in situations where:
all accessible land is fully under cultivation;
failure to improve upon the old methods of
cultivation; and opportunity for alternatives
employment is absent insecurity.
• The impact of population growth is manifested
on farm size; and it leads to high land
fragmentation thereby small landholdings and
finally reduces productivity.
 ii. Natural factor:

• Natural disasters such as drought, climate

change and flooding are said to reduce food
production for a particular period. In the case
of Ethiopia, there is no doubt that droughts
have created severe food shortages.
• Natural disasters have obvious negative
impacts on food production and even on the
economic performance of the country and
thereby bringing food insecurity
 iii. Economic factors:

• Many studies conducted in different parts of Ethiopia

showed that farm land, credit, livestock holding and
access to different productive assets are affecting food
security status of rural households in Ethiopia.
• E.g Wolayita zone, shortage of oxen, lack of farm input
and land shortage are the most influential causes of
food insecurity.
iv. Socio-cultural factors:
• In our country Ethiopia gender division of labor due to
cultural factors constrain productivity and food
security. Rural Ethiopia, it is not socially acceptable for
women to plough.
 v. Institutional factors:

• A number of studies agree that poor

infrastructure including roads; schools and
health services constrain productivity and
thereby bringing food insecurity and
dependence on food aid.
 Indicators of food insecurity
• The major challenge in the use of these
response indicators are the difficulty
associated with identifying the normal
phenomenon of the household and the
response of the household forced by food
stress or its response to avoid risks of food
stress.
 Challenges in achieving food security in Ethiopia

• There are some drawbacks that need to be

tackled in achieving food security in the country,
some among others are;
 Misconception of food insecurity as it occurs in
the general context of poverty and
Vulnerability
 The complementarities and tradeoffs between
achieving self-sufficiency through domestic
production and export of agricultural
commodities in the long run an
urgency
Coping mechanisms of food insecurity
• Coping strategy defined as a mechanism by
which household or community members
meet their relief and recovery needs and
adjust to future disaster related risks by
themselves without outside support.
• The coping mechanism used by different
households may be different from place to
place.
• There are four types of coping strategies that
food insecure households typically use:
Policy options to minimize food insecurity
• The improvement in the availability of food supplies at the
national or regional level, or to increase access to food at
household levels through higher home production of food
crops, market purchase and/or other means or to make more
effective utilization of food at the individual level to meet
human biological needs.
The following strategies are appropriate to eliminate
hunger

1.Strengthen productivity and incomes

2.Linkages maximizing synergy
3.Provide direct access to food