Household food insecurity and associated factors in West Abaya district, Southern Ethiopia, 2015

This study assessed the magnitude of household food insecurity and associated factors at West Abaya district. The HFIAS measurement revealed 70 (9.0%), 102 (13.0%), and 125 (16.0%) of households were severely, moderately, and mildly food insecure, respectively. The overall level of household food insecurity was found to be 297 (38.1%) at West Abaya district. Controlling for confounders, sex of household head, age of household head, marital status, family size, and land ownership had statistically significant association with the outcome of interest.

The prevalence of household food insecurity reported in this study was comparable with study done at Shashemene district reported as 36% [23]. But it was higher than the findings from the Humbo district (28.4%) and lower than study from Sidama Zone [24, 25]. The difference in the findings might be due to variation in study settings and data collection seasons. The relatively lower prevalence of household food insecurity in this study might be due to the data collection period, which was harvest season in the area. This might have underestimated the magnitude of the problem. Thus, seasonal data with repeated surveys may give better evidence.

Based on HFIAS questions, the findings revealed 31.6% households eat less than three times a day, 23.6% affirmed as did not have any food to eat, 20% of the household said that members went to sleep hungry, and 12.6% said that family members passed the whole day and night without eating anything because there was not enough food. Similar studies conducted in South Africa and Ghana had comparable findings [26, 27]. The declining trend of percentages from anxiety to not eating the whole day is because of increment in severity of the condition.

Households headed by females were 2 times more likely to be food insecure than households headed by males. The finding was in line with a study done in Nigeria [28]. Another similar study in Tigray reported finding which agrees in direction with this finding [29]. Study from Northern Ethiopia also revealed that male-headed households tend to be more food secure than female-headed households [30]. Culturally in the study area food production is mainly by cultivating land; however, females hardly cultivate. That might be the likely reason for higher food insecurity of female-headed households in the study area.

The finding of this study also indicates having smaller farm land enhances the risk of being food insecure. The usages of improved seed with fertilizers were weakly practiced in the study area based on records of district agricultural office. Additionally as indicated somewhere else 19% of households lack farm land in the study area. On the other hand, nearly half of households having land had land size of 1.5 ha which is far higher than average landholding (0.2 ha) in the study area. So the reason for the relative higher food insecurity in household with smaller land size might be deprived usage of improved seed with fertilizer and lack of comparable access to farm land in the study area. Likewise, households with married couples were likely to be food secure than single, widowed, and divorced ones as their household head. That was in line with studies from Southern Ethiopia [31, 32]. This is possibly because households with married head had more access to farm land and social security than uncouples in the study area.

The current study indicated that a household with smaller family sizes tends to be food secure as compared to households with larger family sizes. Other things being constant, household food insecurity increases nearly by 2.4 times as family sizes reach ?4 compared to households with ?3 members. That was comparable with findings from Addis Ababa and Shashemene [23, 33]. Moreover, similar studies done in Malawi and Oromia regional state had also allied findings [34, 35]. At the time of increment in family size, the level of production must increase, but while household size increases, the age of household head also increases logically. So, increasing production rate which is principally by cultivation still in the study area becomes exigent.