Rural women households food security analysis in Walmara District, Ethiopia

Abstract The role of traditional gender roles in shaping food security outcomes for rural women in Walmara District may not be fully explored. This paper describes rural women’s household food security in Walmara District, Ethiopia. A mixed method was used in this research. Researchers selected 335 survey participants via systematic sampling. Also, we employed semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. The study is grounded in the decline of food entitlement and political economy explanation frameworks. The Household Food Insecurity Access Scale was used to analyze food security. A sustainable livelihood framework was used to describe households’ livelihoods. The finding shows that the prevalence of food security in rural women’s households is 30.75% in the study area. However, the majority of the participants, 69.25%, are food insecure: 23.58%, 30.15%, and 15.52% of households are moderately food insecure, mildly food insecure, and severely food insecure respectively. The finding also reveals that most of them engaged in animal fattening, cow milk, and poultry production as an adaptive mechanism to food shortage. Yet, they cannot manage their food due to the political instability and inflation in the country. It concludes that most women’s households are food insecure nowadays. This paper underscores the government’s role in empowering rural women in food security enhancing their capacity and supporting women’s unions, and associations to ensure food security. This study allows policymakers and other stakeholders to emphasize women’s role in food security and launch and monitor policies and strategies that ensure women’s access to resources and decision-making.