Dynamics towards sustainable food security in arid and semi-arid parts of East Shewa Zone In Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

Abstract

Sustainable food security remains a major global concern despite the various strategies being undertaken. Currently, fragile ecosystems can no longer sustain themselves because of the numerous factors acting against each other. This study therefore, sought to examine the dynamics towards sustainable food security in Arid and Semi-Arid parts of East Shewa zone in Oromia Regional State of Ethiopia. The study objectives were to: analyze the food security situation, assess the factors determining food security and examine the challenges towards sustainable food security in the study area. The study was informed by vulnerable livelihood approach and political ecology explanation. It adopted pragmatism philosophi- cal underpinning that lays emphasis on mixed method research. Using multistage and systematic random sampling techniques, a sample size of 397 comprising of pastoral and agro-pastoral households was generated from 58,632 target household population of the study area. The instruments of data collection were questionnaire, focus group discussion guides, structured interview guides, and observation schedules. The collected data was sub- jected to Rasch Model and SPSS, and analyzed descriptively and inferentially. Frequency, percentage, average, and charts were used to display the data and binary and ordinal logistic regression models were applied for inferential analysis to determine association between variables. The qualitative data was transcribed, categorized into themes and analyzed to provide depth to the quantitative results. Arising from the research findings 22% of the households were food secure while 78% fall in food insecure category indicating the food situation in the study area was not sustainable as the majority failed to produce or access food. From the regression analysis undertaken it was found that household socioeconomic factors such as respondent’s non-farm income (P-value=.006), crop farm/irrigation (P- value=.021), family size (P-value=.029) government support (P-value=.008) and livestock owned (P-value=.001) played significant roles in determining household food (in)security (P-value < 0.05). In relation to the dynamics towards food security sustainability, the re- gression analysis showed that there was a statistically significant negative correlation between soil fertility decline (P-value=.000), land degradation (P-value=.031), biodiversity loss (P-value=.001), shortage of water (P-value=.027), restricted mobility (P-value=.000), poor market facilities (P-value=.022) conflict (P-value=.000) and household food security at P-value <0.05. Emerging from the study findings, livestock food shortages, crop failure, farm inputs, market dynamics, conflicts, asset decline, and shortage of food were pro- nounced as the major challenges facing the study area. In conclusion, the dynamics observed in these parts demonstrate that even in challenging environments, a multifaceted approach of integrating socioeconomic development, environmental conservation and in- stitutional reform can unlock significant potential for sustainable food security. In recommendation, the study advocates for collaborative efforts involving responsible na- tional, regional, and local governments as well as non-government organizations in enhancing food security, awareness raising, and implementation of policies for sustainable management and accessibility to natural resources within the study area.