Analysis of the Nexus between Coping Strategies and Resilience to Food Insecurity Shocks: The Case of Rural Households in Boricha Woreda, Sidama National Regional State, Ethiopia

Abstract

This chapter reports on the coping strategies employed by households in the event of food insecurity shocks and the nexus between the types of coping strategies and resilience to food insecurity in one of the food-stressed woreda from Sidama National Regional State, Ethiopia. The households use various consumption-based coping strategies that run from compromising the quality of food-to-food rationing. Repeatedly occurring food shortage has also forced some households to employ resilience erosive coping mechanisms such as selling reproductive assets. Such coping strategies have an important implication on the household’s capacity to cope with the future food insecurity-related shocks, with a statistically significant relationship between the nature of coping strategies utilized in response to previous food insecurity-related shocks and the household’s resilience to upcoming shocks. Coordinating crises management based on humanitarian intervention with households’ livelihood assets protection and resilience strengthening is the major policy implication of this study.