PhD Defence Mame Getaneh | Food Insecurity and The Role of Drought and Soil Erosion: A Case Study, North West Ethiopia | Food Insecurity

Food Insecurity and The Role of Drought and Soil Erosion: A Case Study, North West Ethiopia | Food Insecurity

Mame Getaneh is a PhD student in the Department of Applied Earth Sciences. (Co)Promotors are prof.dr. V.G. Jetten and dr.ir. J. Ettema from the Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente an dr. D.T. Meshesha from the Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.

The lack of access to food remains a significant issue in rural Ethiopia, including in the rain-fed agricultural districts of Libokemkem and Ebinat. Although interventions have been in place for decades, households in Northwestern Ethiopia continue to face persistent food shortages, low dietary diversity, and limited livelihood opportunities. Several factors, including socioeconomic marginalization, climate variability, and environmental degradation, play a significant role in this context. Thus, integrated approaches that link household food security to climatic and environmental factors are needed to understand the situation.

Three interrelated studies are included in the thesis. We conducted an assessment of household food insecurity in Libokemkem and Ebinat districts using three standardized indicators: the Household Food Insecurity Access Score (HFIAS), the Household Diet Diversity Score (HDDS), and the Coping Strategy Index (CSI). The result reveals that more than three-quarters of households experienced food insecurity, ranging from mild to severe. Furthermore, most households consume three to four food groups dominated by cereals and white roots. To mitigate the problem and preserve their food stock until the next harvest, households employ severe coping strategies. The household's family size, farm size, and access to various social services, such as markets, transportation, credit services, and water, are strongly associated with household food insecurity.

 As part of the second study, the impact of drought and rainfall variability on local food security from June to September was examined using the Standardized Precipitation Evaporation Index (SPEI), the Vegetation Condition Index (VCI), and rainfall timing. While the long-term rainfall trend did not show a significant decline, significant inter-seasonal variability was observed. Rainfall that started late, ended early, and lasted for a prolonged period highly disrupted the sowing and crop growth.

Soil erosion was examined under the third study as a major driver of food insecurity using the newly developed Daily Soil Loss Model (DSL) during the growing season. The seasonal average soil loss ranged from 12 to 26 tons ha -1 yr -1, above the Ethiopian highlands' thresholds. Intense rainfall on the degraded slopes, particularly in the middle of the season, July and August, generates high runoff, exacerbating soil erosion. The vulnerability of soils is apparent even in drought years, when short but heavy rainfall events cause significant erosion.

The findings of these studies highlight that food insecurity in Northwestern Ethiopia, particularly in the Libokemkem and Ebinat districts, is the result of interrelated factors, including social, climate variability, and land degradation. Crop yield reduction is one dimension of food security; however, factors such as social constraints, soil erosion, and rainfall variability reinforce each other within the cycle of vulnerability. Therefore, this underscores the inadequacy of piecemeal solutions in addressing the problem. Reducing food insecurity with humanitarian aid, irrigation without sustainable soil conservation practices, and land management without improving household assets, infrastructure, and market access is impossible. Therefore, integrated approaches that combine social protection, climate adaptation, and sustainable land management are needed.

In addition to the empirical findings, the thesis provides methodological contributions for future studies. Integrating household food security indicators with drought indices and hydrological modelling provides a triangulated assessment of vulnerability that goes beyond the single-method assessments. Therefore, the approach provides a comprehensive perspective that scholars and policymakers can utilize both locally and at the national level.