Household Food Insecurity and Coping Strategies: A Perspective from Lasta Wereda, North Wollo Zone of Amhara, Ethiopia

The study aims to assess food insecurity, identify the determinants of food insecurity and analyze the coping strategies of the rural households in Lasta wereda, Amhara regional state of Ethiopia. Primary data were collected using questionnaire survey, focus group discussion and key informant interview. Three stage sampling technique was employed to select 299 rural households in the study area. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies mean and standard deviation was used to analyze the data. Econometric analysis of Tobit model was used to identify the determinants of food insecurity, and Foster-Greer-Thorbecke model indices were employed to estimate the incidence, gap and severity of food insecurity. The head count ratio revealed that 51.8 percent of sampled households were found to be food insecure. The gap and severity of food insecurity were estimated to be 14.2 and 6 percent respectively. The results of Tobit regression model showed household size, cultivable land size, livestock ownership, oxen ownership, use of chemical fertilizer and households share of own produced food were found to be significant determinants of food insecurity in the study area. Selling livestock to buy food, reducing the quantity of meals and reducing the frequency of meals were among the common coping strategies adopted at times of decline in food availability. Family planning, off-farm income generating activities, livestock sector productivity and access to chemical fertilizer should be highly strengthened in the study area.