Determinants of Household Dietary Diversity Score in Food Insecure Areas of Ethiopia

Abstract

The study assessed the Ethiopia-Netherlands Bilateral project implemented, for Realizing Sustainable Agricultural Livelihood Security, in Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, and South Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples regions in Ethiopia. It is a project-based study on which the baseline data were collected from 1902 household heads to assess the determinants of households’ dietary diversity score for food insecure households in the country. The method of analysis applied was descriptive statistics and ordered Probit Model. The results indicated that the majority of sample households dominantly consumed staple cereal food with inadequate animal products, fresh fruits, and fish. The average household dietary diversity score of 4.79 was principally made from the consumption of staple cereals, condiments/spices/tea/coffee, vegetable consumption, and considerable consumption of oilseeds and pulses or legumes. The study revealed significant differences in consumption patterns among regions, and university cluster respondents with respect to key food groups. The household dietary diversity scores are generally low for Productive Safety Net (PSNP) beneficiary households which are 4.56 for food groups and 5.25 for non-PSNP households. The household dietary diversity score categories revealed considerable differences between the two groups with 27% of PSNP households falling under the low household dietary diversity score category, whereas only 16% for non-PSNP households. However, the medium category of household dietary diversity score is the same for the two groups indicating that the high household dietary diversity score was 13% for PSNP and 24% for Non- PSNP households. Fruits, eggs, and meat or other meat products were the least consumed. A household head dietary diversity score of about four was computed for all the sample households. This clearly indicated the need to introduce suitable fruit crops and animal-source foods to household heads to improve the dietary diversity scores. This calls for considering seasons when providing food/cash transfer support for the PSNP beneficiaries. The model result also indicated PSNP, education level, and land ownership indicated a significant positive relationship with household dietary diversity score. Family size, extension frequency, and age of household heads indicated a negative relationship with the household dietary diversity score category. The study suggested that strategies aimed at improving the consumption behavior of rural households in the study area should be directed to address the determining factors of household food consumption.