Analysis of household food security status in Hadiya Zone, Central Ethiopia

Ensuring food security is one of the paramount challenges facing the developing world today. Developing countries like Ethiopia have been facing food insecurity for many decades. Despite many efforts undertaken by the government of Ethiopia, the country has not yet achieved food self-sufficiency. The current household food security status and determining factors are inadequately recognized in Hadiya Zone. Thus, this study aims to contribute to filling this gap. The study utilized both primary and secondary data sources. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 384 respondents. A seven-day food consumption score method was used to determine dietary energy intake in kilocalories per person per day, which was then employed to evaluate household food security status. Descriptive and inferential statistics as well as the binary logistic regression model were used to analyze the data. The findings show that 52.1 % of respondents were food insecure, and the remaining 47.9 % were food secure households. The logistic regression model results show that household food security status was mainly influenced by sex, dependency ratio, technology adoption, annual income, non/off-farm participation, soil and water conservation practices, credit use, and market participation. The extent and severity of food insecurity vary across different areas and depend on various factors. To transform the food system into resilient and sustainable, this study recommends that concerned government bodies and stakeholders support rural households with improved agricultural technologies, promote rural entrepreneurship, scale up soil and water conservation practices, provide affordable credit schemes, and enhance market access through improving rural infrastructure.