FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY OF RURAL HOUSEHOLDS: THE CASE OF AYSAITA DISTRICT, AWSI RASU ZONE, AFAR NATIONAL REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA

The issue of ensuring food and nutrition security has become a global agenda, particularly for low-income countries with high population growth rate. In Ethiopia, food insecurity and undernutrition are worsening despite numerous policies and programmes geared towards improving household calorie intake and access to nutritious foods. As a tool, understanding the major causes of food and nutrition insecurity is important for interventions. Therefore, this study was initiated to estimate food and nutrition security statuses of rural households, identify their determinants, and measure the extent, prevalence and severity of food insecurity in Aysaita district. The data for this study were collected from primary and secondary sources. Primary data were collected from 300 randomly selected sample households by using a combination of probability and non-probability sampling methods, focus group discussions, and key informants’ interview, whereas secondary data were obtained from reviewing related documents. In analyzing the collected data, descriptive and inferential statistics as well as FGT index were employed. Most importantly, bivariate probit model was used to identify the determinants of food and nutrition security statuses. The finding of the study indicated that 41.67%, 32% and 19% of the sampled households were food secured, nutrition secured, and both food and nutrition secured, respectively. The food insecurity extent, gap and severity of the sampled households computed using FGT indices were 58.33%, 15.02% and 5.31%, respectively. The results of the bivariate probit model showed that, except sex of household head, variables such as, education level, number of milking cows, cultivated land size, annual on-farm income, and participation in off/non-farm activities had positive and significant effect on households’ food security status. On the other hand, the probability of being nutrition secure was positively and significantly affected by education level, livestock holding, size of cultivated land and annual on-farm income, while livestock died in survey year and distance from home to the nearest market were the only significant factors reducing the probability of being nutrition secure. The findings of the study implied that the majority of households were food and nutrition insecure where its improvement can be addressed through appropriate policy, institutional and technological option