Solomon Tsehay (PhD)Addishiwot Arkiso2024-04-032024-04-032022-06https://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/2695Industrial parks development has contributed to employment opportunity creation for the everincreasing youth population in the country. In spite of a huge surge of employment opportunities, emerging evidences have revealed that the wage of the textile sector is so low that it cannot ensure a decent living to its employees. Thus, this study aims at examining the effects of industrial parks on food security by assessing operators’ food security status, identifying determinants of food security and by assessing existing coping mechanism to food insecurity in Hawassa industrial park, Hawassa city, Sidama regional state, Ethiopia. A total of 268 sample operators were taken from 6 different foreign firms in the industrial park through multi-stage sampling techniques. Descriptive and inferential statistics notably, f-test and chi-square test as well as econometric model namely ordered logistic regression was used. Household food insecurity access scale and food consumption score were employed to examine the food security status of the sample operators while coping strategy index was applied to examine their coping mechanisms to food shortages or food insecurity. Findings of household food insecurity access scale indicated that 49 (18.28 %) of the respondents were food secure while 206 (76.87%) and 13 (4.85 %) of respondents were mildly and moderately food insecure respectively. The food consumption score results demonstrate that from a total of 268 respondents 14.9 of them have acceptable food consumption score while 85.1% of them have borderline food consumption score. The identified determinants of food security using ordered logistics regression are salary, provision of breakfast, provision of lunch, transportation services as well as receiving subsidy from family showing positive influence on food security while subsidizing one’s family and origin showed a negative effect on food security. On the other hand, salary, lunch provision by factory, receiving subsidy from family and medical expenses have a positive influence while transportation cost and previous occupation have a negative influence on the dietary diversity of the operators. The study participants also reported that they were regulating their consumption patterns as a coping strategy. Among the coping strategies, the most common ones were, limiting portion size at meal times (88.8%), pursuing on less preferred foods or less expensive foods (79.1%) and reducing number of meals eaten in a day (66.8) while skipping meal the entire day and begging were not adopted at all. The study concludes that salary level significantly determines food security. In addition different benefit packages provided by factories such as breakfast, lunch and transportation service, significantly improve the food security status operators. Moreover, the most adopted coping mechanism by the operators limiting portion size. The study concludes that salary increase, provision of breakfast, lunch and transportation should be implemented by all factories and it has to be part of the policy. In addition to this, most workers spend a significant portion of their salary on rent and struggle to get by so integrating the work place with housing will improve their condition.enHawassa industrial parksoperatorsfood securityhousehold food insecurity access scalefood consumption scorecoping strategy indexThesis