Livelihoods And Food Security In The Small Urban Centers Of Ethiopia The Case Of Durame Wolenchiti And Debre Sina Towns

Food insecurity has generally been associated with rural communities, whereas thernnumber of people living in urban areas is deemed to be growing constantly and so is thernnumber of the urban poor. In addition, the recent sharp rise in food prices suggests thatrnpoor urban households would be forced to experience an ever-widening food gaps.rnHowever, there is little empirical evidence that quantifies the prevalence of urban foodrninsecurity and how people living in urban areas are coping with the sustained high foodrnprices. This study therefore aims to address this gap by investigating the food securityrnsituation in the small urban areas of Ethiopia. This thesis investigates the currentrnlivelihoods and food security as well as vulnerability situation of households living inrnDurame, Debre Sina and Wolenchiti towns of Ethiopia. In doing so, the study employs arnmixed methods approach, whereby both qualitative and quantitative data are collectedrnfrom the subjects of the study. The qualitative data is gathered using focus grouprndiscussions, case study and key-informant interviews while quantitative data is collectedrnusing a structured questionnaire administered to three hundred households randomlyrnselected from the poor communities of the three small towns stated above. Food securityrnwas defined using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale criteria. It is found thatrnthe poor have limited access to financial capital and characterized by low human capital.rnThey are also vulnerable to insufficient water supply and over-crowded housingrnconditions. The study findings indicate that the lack of stable income, especially fromrnwage employment, has formed uncertainty about the survival of households. As a result,rnpoor people rely on a wide variety of strategies to eke out a bare existence and to copernwith their income and food insecurity. The price of foods was rising and simultaneouslyrnthe households’ purchasing power was eroded due to lower incomes and seasonalrnfluctuations in employment situation. It is found that households in the lower incomerngroup spent a great proportion of their income on food. The common coping strategiesrnused by households against high food price were shifting to lower quality food or lessrnexpensive food types and reduction in the quantity of meals. The study found highrnprevalence of food insecurity; 77 % of the households were food insecure, with 48 %rnbeing moderately or severely food insecure. Factors associated with food security includernlevel of income, source of livelihood, household size, and educational status of householdrnheads. Households with higher food insecurity scores tend to have lower foodrnconsumption patterns. The research highlights that residents in the poor areas of thernstudied small towns generally eat monotonous food, with little concern for quality. Thernanalysis of the data on the contextual factors influencing people’s consumption patternsrnby using a political ecology approach reveals that various interacting factors, includingrnthe political-economic, socio-cultural and ecological factors that influence the decisionrnaround which foodstuff households consume and around food consumption patternsrnwithin the studied small towns. Overall, the urban poor as investigated in this study,rnexperience the high level of poverty and the subsequent high prevalence of foodrninsecurity; the situation worsening during summer (kiremt) season in the perception ofrnthe respondent, causing frequent use of consumption based coping strategies. Effectivernresponse to addressing vulnerability to food insecurity among urban households shouldrnfocus on adopting an urban food security strategy with a safety net program on stabilizingrnthe food market and on creating opportunities that could improve the livelihood andrnpurchasing power of urban households

Get Full Work

Report copyright infringement or plagiarism