Reasons for food insecurity of farm households in South Wollo, Ethiopia: explanations at grassroots

This paper takes a grassroots approach to understand the causes of the variation in food security status among rural farm households Ethiopia.The research is carried out by the Broadening Access and Strengthening Input Market Systems (BASIS) project in Ethiopia which conducted a panel of household surveys since June 2000 in four study districts in South Wollo and Oromia zones of Amhara region. The surveys collected data on different aspects of household livelihood, including household demography, food stock and food consumption, assets, land tenure and transaction, farm production, off-farm activities, and institutions and institutional services.The author describes the socioeconomic contexts and the food security status of rural households, and uses the case studies of key informants to discuss the explanations of food security and insecurity.The author concludes that cultural values and norms and existing institutions need to be assessed and understood in designing any food insecurity and poverty reduction strategy and policy. In order to break the vicious poverty and food insecurity trap and induce rural and agricultural transformation, changes are required in: some social values/norms; incentives; market and credit services; research and extension services; cooperative/group works, and; the nature and operation of property (land) institutions (rules) and public agencies/organisations.The main findings include:improving land access through the market and credit supply may play an important role in alleviating the asset constraintsmotivation and work discipline are important personal psychological behaviour that may contribute to achieving food security goalsculturally embodied traditional values and attitudes to work, time management, capital accumulation and profit are relevant factors that affect livelihood activities and managementfood secure farm households are engaged substantially in non-staple cash enterprises like livestock rearing, cash crops, and trading, implying that diversification, based on local resources and market opportunities, is an essential component of food security.