Impact of Livelihood Diversification on Rural Household Food Security: Evidence from Goncha-Siso-Enesie Destrict of Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia

Abstract

Despite some improvements in recent years, widespread poverty and food insecurity remain the main challenges in Ethiopia. Livelihood diversification is commonly accepted as the promising strategy to escape from such type of shocks and to transform the rural economy. Ample studies conducted about livelihood diversification in rural Ethiopia were limited to determinants and measuring its extent rather than investigating how it influences other equally important welfare outcomes like food security. In light of these, this study attempted to analyse the impact of livelihood diversification on rural household food security in Goncha-Siso-Enesie district, Amhara Regional State of Ethiopia. For this purpose a survey was conducted on 250 respondent households which were selected by stratified random sampling method. Descriptive statistics were employed to analyse the data. To a large extent, impact of livelihood diversification on household’s food security has been analyzed by using propensity score matching (PSM) econometric model. Descriptive statistics result pointed out that rural households combined non-farm and off-farm activities instead of relying on-farm only. Result from PSM also suggests that livelihood diversification brought a positive significant impact on household food security. Finally, policy implications were made according to the finding of the study.