Wealth = Health? Prevalence and predictive indicators of food insecurity in Sidama and Wolayta zones of Southern Ethiopia

How a society produces and consumes food impacts the health of individuals and whole communities, and can either enhance or impede environmental, economic, and social well-being and food security. Moreover, food security is essential for robust local and regional economies, political stability, effective education, and a resilient environment. Consequently, measuring food security and understanding its influencing factors are important for stakeholders from across sectors. Since 2012, the International Potato Center (CIP) has worked with stakeholders from agriculture, nutrition and health in Ethiopia to improve nutrition and food security for smallholder farmers by improving the production and consumption of orange fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSP) as part of diversified diets. This presentation will summarize the prevalence of household food insecurity among 5 woredas (zones) from the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region of Ethiopia, and evaluate the potential predictive factors specific to this region. Data were taken from baseline surveys conducted in 150 households. The surveys were conducted in April-May 2013 with heads of households by trained Ethiopian enumerators. Socio-economic and wealth indicators were found to have a positive association with food security. Food secure households had 3.31 times as many head of livestock, twice as many cattle, and twice as much land than households that exhibited mild food insecurity. The level of education of household heads was significantly higher in food secure households. To enhance understanding of these results, follow-up qualitative surveys were conducted to find out if these wealth indicators align with local values and experiences of food insecurity.