Rural Livelihood Diversification and Its Contribution to Child Poverty Reduction in Ethiopia: The Case of West Arsi Zone, Arsi Negele Woreda, Oromia Region Ethiopia
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Date
2024-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The concept of livelihood diversification and its relationship with child poverty is a critical issue that affects many families and communities around the world. When considering the relationship between livelihood diversification and child poverty, it is important to recognize that the economic well-being of a household has a direct impact on the welfare of the children within that household. This study examines the status of livelihood diversification and its contribution to child poverty reduction in the Arsi Negele Woreda of Ethiopia. It explores the determinants of livelihood strategies, the state of child poverty, the linkages between household livelihood diversification and multidimensional child poverty, and the linkages between livelihood diversification and child dietary diversity. The study used a multistage sampling procedure to collect cross-sectional data using a semi-structured questionnaire. Household survey questionnaires, child dietary diversity questionnaires and key formant interviews were used to collect primary data from the total sample size of 401 households. STATA software version 16 and SPSS version 25 were used to analyze data. Descriptive and inferential statistics and econometric models were used to analyze data. The Simpson Diversity Index was used to measure the extent of livelihood diversification, and a multinomial logistic regression model was employed to identify the determinants of livelihood strategy choices. The multidimensional poverty measurement approach was used to analyze child poverty, with the multidimensional deprivation headcount measuring the number of children deprived in at least one-third of the weighted indicators. The ordered probit model was used to analyze the factors influencing children's dietary diversity. The descriptive results showed that the majority of households (56%) in the study area were engaged in highly diversified livelihood activities; while maize is the most important cereal crop, accounting for about 34% of crop production in the study area. Other major crops include wheat (31%), teff (22%), barley (3%), and sorghum (1%). The Simpson diversity index results showed that about 62% of households did not diversify their livelihoods while the remaining 38% of households were engaging in multiple livelihood activities. On-farm activities contribute the highest share (41.9%) to household livelihoods, followed by combinations of on-farm and non-farm (26.43%), and on-farm and off-farm (20.2%) activities. The result from the multidimensional poverty analysis showed that 85% of children from the sampled households were multidimensionally poor. Various factors were found to affect child dietary diversity. Children from female-headed households were less likely to consume a highly diverse diet, with a 37.5% lower probability of having high dietary diversity compared to those in male-headed households. Similarly, children from older households head have less probability of consuming a highly diversified diet. The study highlights the challenges and trade-offs associated with livelihood diversification, such as access to resources, market opportunities, and the potential for a lack of specialization. It also highlights the need for targeted policies and interventions to address the multidimensional nature of child poverty in Ethiopia, focusing on improving access to education, healthcare, nutrition, and basic services like water, sanitation, and energy. It is important to consider household livelihood strategies and socioeconomic characteristics when designing interventions to improve child nutrition and dietary diversity in rural Ethiopia.
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Livelihood strategies, livelihood diversification, multidimensional child poverty, child dietary diversity, probit model