FOOD SECURITY AND COPING STRATEGIES OF RURAL HOUSEHOLDS: THE CASE OF ODA BULTUM DISTRICT, WEST HARARGHE ZONE, OROMIA NATIONAL REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA

Food security issue is one of the critical concern and top priority area for developing countries. Having clear picture on food security status and its determinants helps policy makers to devise appropriate policies that enhance food security. Hence, this study aims to determine the food security status of the households, its determinants, and identify coping strategies used during food shortage in Oda Bultum district of West Hararghe zone, Oromia National Regional State. By using three stage-sampling techniques, 150 sample households were randomly selected. The data for this study were collected from primary and secondary sources. Secondary data were collected from various sources. Analytical tools used include descriptive statistics, Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) and logit model. As a result, from the sampled households 43.33% were food secure and 56.67%, were food insecure. Based on FGT index, head count ratio, gap and severity of food insecurity found to be 56.67%, 17% and 7%, respectively. Logit regression analysis revealed that off/non-farm income, oxen ownership and cash crop production significantly increased probability of being food secure, while, distance from market, family size and dependency ratio were significant factors reducing the probability of being food secure. Furthermore, Coping strategies adopted by the sample households were borrowing of food or cash, sale of more livestock than usual, relying on less preferred food, reducing number of meals eaten in a day and reducing meal size. This study recommends that rural households should be encouraged to keep moderate household size, increasing off/non-farm income, increasing cash crop productivity, oxen possession and improvement of the educational level of the household heads in order to enhance households’ food security status in the study area.