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The role of livestock diversification in ensuring household food security under a changing climate in Borana, Ethiopia

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Abstract

While food insecurity is a growing concern across the developing nations, accentuated by climate variability and change, it could be even worse for pastoralists given their unpredictable exposure to climate risks. The Borana herders experience food insecurity as a result of recurring droughts causing huge losses of cattle, and are thus increasingly shifting from cattle pastoralism to multi-species herding. The present study examines the role of livestock diversification in combating household food insecurity using herders’ perceptions, a modified household food insecurity access scale (mHFIAS) and dietary diversity score. Herders perceived child growth, adult height and body condition to be decreasing as a result of declining milk production and changing dietary trends. Results also revealed a high level of seasonal food insecurity and low dietary diversity with the majority (81 %) consuming one to three food groups. Livestock diversification was a major factor affecting household food security. Households practising diversification had significantly fewer months of food deficit (2.3 vs. 3.8), lower mHFIAS (5.5 vs. 8.7) and a higher average off-take in the form of livestock sales (7.4 vs. 4.0) than non-diversified ones. Diversification improved dietary intake of specific food groups and the average number of meals consumed per day. While fruits, eggs and fish are not part of the Borana diet, a large number of respondents consumed no vegetables (93 %) or meat (96 %), potentiating the risk of micronutrient deficiencies. This study highlights the particular significance of livestock diversification, among other socio-demographic factors, in attaining food security under a changing climate in the study area.

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Acknowledgments

The research work has been financially supported by the Dr. Hermann Eiselen PhD Grant from the Foundation Fiat Panis. This publication is an output of the scholarship from the Food Security Center, University of Hohenheim, which is supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Respondents spent their time and energy in answering questions. All contributions are gratefully acknowledged. We are thankful to the anonymous reviewers and the editor for their constructive comments and corrections to improve the quality of the paper.

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Correspondence to Bekele Megersa.

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Megersa, B., Markemann, A., Angassa, A. et al. The role of livestock diversification in ensuring household food security under a changing climate in Borana, Ethiopia. Food Sec. 6, 15–28 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-013-0314-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-013-0314-4

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