Eucalyptus-based livelihoods: enhancing household food security and resilience in Northwest Ethiopia

Farmers in northwest Ethiopia have been transforming their livelihood strategies, however, the impact of this transformation on food security status and resilience is hardly investigated. The study aimed to analyze the contribution of livelihood strategy transformation to farmers' food security...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Fasika Belay, Messay Mulugeta, Teferee Makonnen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-02-01
Series:Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2025.1496756/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1823856540393668608
author Fasika Belay
Fasika Belay
Messay Mulugeta
Teferee Makonnen
author_facet Fasika Belay
Fasika Belay
Messay Mulugeta
Teferee Makonnen
author_sort Fasika Belay
collection DOAJ
description Farmers in northwest Ethiopia have been transforming their livelihood strategies, however, the impact of this transformation on food security status and resilience is hardly investigated. The study aimed to analyze the contribution of livelihood strategy transformation to farmers' food security and capital assets in the Senan district, Ethiopia. A multistage sampling technique was utilized, and a total of 332 households were taken, of whom 166 households that had transformed their livelihood strategy, and 166 households had not. The results of the independent sample t-test revealed a statistically significant difference in average scores for the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (M = 8.06 compared to 11.29) and the Household Dietary Diversity Score (M = 5.28 compared to 4.73) between households with and without eucalyptus plantations. The econometric analysis revealed that variables such as total land holding size, annual income, and livelihood diversification had a positive influence on the probability of a household being categorized as food secure. Moreover, the outcome of the livelihood asset index reveals that households that possess eucalyptus plantations exhibit higher indices for natural, physical, financial, and social assets compared to households without plantations. However, households that own eucalyptus plantations demonstrate a lower index for human capital than those without eucalyptus plantations. These findings underscore the role of eucalyptus plantations in enhancing food security and improving livelihoods for farmers in the study area. Furthermore, diversifying income sources through eucalyptus plantations can significantly amplify its overall benefits for local households.
format Article
id doaj-art-e171e2aac42b4804a7fb3db25baed31b
institution Kabale University
issn 2571-581X
language English
publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
spelling doaj-art-e171e2aac42b4804a7fb3db25baed31b2025-02-12T07:26:30ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems2571-581X2025-02-01910.3389/fsufs.2025.14967561496756Eucalyptus-based livelihoods: enhancing household food security and resilience in Northwest EthiopiaFasika Belay0Fasika Belay1Messay Mulugeta2Teferee Makonnen3Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaDepartment of Urban Transport Management, Kotebe University of Education, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaCenter for Food Security Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaDepartment of Geography and Environmental Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaFarmers in northwest Ethiopia have been transforming their livelihood strategies, however, the impact of this transformation on food security status and resilience is hardly investigated. The study aimed to analyze the contribution of livelihood strategy transformation to farmers' food security and capital assets in the Senan district, Ethiopia. A multistage sampling technique was utilized, and a total of 332 households were taken, of whom 166 households that had transformed their livelihood strategy, and 166 households had not. The results of the independent sample t-test revealed a statistically significant difference in average scores for the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (M = 8.06 compared to 11.29) and the Household Dietary Diversity Score (M = 5.28 compared to 4.73) between households with and without eucalyptus plantations. The econometric analysis revealed that variables such as total land holding size, annual income, and livelihood diversification had a positive influence on the probability of a household being categorized as food secure. Moreover, the outcome of the livelihood asset index reveals that households that possess eucalyptus plantations exhibit higher indices for natural, physical, financial, and social assets compared to households without plantations. However, households that own eucalyptus plantations demonstrate a lower index for human capital than those without eucalyptus plantations. These findings underscore the role of eucalyptus plantations in enhancing food security and improving livelihoods for farmers in the study area. Furthermore, diversifying income sources through eucalyptus plantations can significantly amplify its overall benefits for local households.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2025.1496756/fullfood insecurityasset indexdietary diversityprincipal component analysisannual income
spellingShingle Fasika Belay
Fasika Belay
Messay Mulugeta
Teferee Makonnen
Eucalyptus-based livelihoods: enhancing household food security and resilience in Northwest Ethiopia
Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
food insecurity
asset index
dietary diversity
principal component analysis
annual income
title Eucalyptus-based livelihoods: enhancing household food security and resilience in Northwest Ethiopia
title_full Eucalyptus-based livelihoods: enhancing household food security and resilience in Northwest Ethiopia
title_fullStr Eucalyptus-based livelihoods: enhancing household food security and resilience in Northwest Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Eucalyptus-based livelihoods: enhancing household food security and resilience in Northwest Ethiopia
title_short Eucalyptus-based livelihoods: enhancing household food security and resilience in Northwest Ethiopia
title_sort eucalyptus based livelihoods enhancing household food security and resilience in northwest ethiopia
topic food insecurity
asset index
dietary diversity
principal component analysis
annual income
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2025.1496756/full
work_keys_str_mv AT fasikabelay eucalyptusbasedlivelihoodsenhancinghouseholdfoodsecurityandresilienceinnorthwestethiopia
AT fasikabelay eucalyptusbasedlivelihoodsenhancinghouseholdfoodsecurityandresilienceinnorthwestethiopia
AT messaymulugeta eucalyptusbasedlivelihoodsenhancinghouseholdfoodsecurityandresilienceinnorthwestethiopia
AT tefereemakonnen eucalyptusbasedlivelihoodsenhancinghouseholdfoodsecurityandresilienceinnorthwestethiopia