Interplay Of Drought, Resilience, And Food Security In The Somali Regional State Of Ethiopia
| dc.contributor.advisor | Desalegn Yayeh (PhD) | |
| dc.contributor.author | Dereje Nigussie | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-09-22T13:19:50Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-09-22T13:19:50Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2026 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The interaction between drought resilience and food security challenges the global community and influences agriculture-based food systems. This study aimed to investigate the effects of short- and long-term drought shocks on food security and identify specific resilience indicators that mitigate these impacts among rural households in Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State. This study used mixed methods, combining qualitative data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews across three districts, along with self-reported shock data from the Ethiopian Socioeconomic Panel Survey (ESPS) waves 4 (2018/19) and 5 (2021/22), and quantitative analysis of panel household data from the ESPS’s two waves and historic observations of climate data. The study examined how rural Somali households experienced drought through both subjective (qualitative data from FGDs and KIIs, along with self-reported shock data from the ESPS waves) and objective drought measures (specifically the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) for 6- and 24-month droughts). A subsample of 313 rural households' socioeconomic datasets across both waves was quantitatively analyzed using the FAO's RIMA-II framework and household fixed- ffects panel regression. RIMA identified potential observed resilience variables contributing to core resilience pillars. By modeling realized per capita daily kilocalorie consumption as a dependent variable and interaction terms between dummy drought indicators and the identified potential resilience variables in household fixed effects panel regressions, the study disclosed how much both shortand long-term droughts negatively affected the realized food security indicator and which specific resilience indicators moderated this relationship. Qualitative findings confirmed drought as a frequent and severe climate shock, undermining rural livelihoods, water access, and food security, while the drought analysis based on quantitative data confirmed an increase in the exposure and severity of both short- and long-term droughts in these communities by 2022. Short-term drought disrupts pastoral and agro-pastoral production, affecting food availability, whereas long-term drought causes chronic food insecurity through water stress. Assets, adaptive capacity, and access to basic services correlate with resilience, whereas social safety nets primarily smoothen consumption patterns. The regression results showed 5.2 % and 6.2% reductions in daily kilocalorie consumption from effects of short- and long-term droughts, respectively. Key resilience indicators for mitigating short-term droughts include income diversification, livestock holdings, cropland area, and access to protected water and health services. For long-term droughts, market access, income diversification, herd diversity, financial inclusion, and access to water and health services reduce adverse effects. The study recommends strengthening these interconnected resilience components and context-specific resilience pathways, emphasizing diversified livelihoods, market access, financial inclusion, improved water and health services access, enhanced productive assets, and reformed safety nets to sustain food security amid escalating drought effects in rural areas of the Somali Region. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/9010 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | |
| dc.publisher | Addis Abeba University | |
| dc.subject | Drought | |
| dc.subject | Ethiopia | |
| dc.subject | Food Security | |
| dc.subject | Resilience | |
| dc.subject | Rural Households | |
| dc.subject | Somali Region | |
| dc.title | Interplay Of Drought, Resilience, And Food Security In The Somali Regional State Of Ethiopia | |
| dc.type | Thesis |