Strengthening Food Security in Rural Ethiopia by Logan Cochrane MA, Staffordshire University, 2013 BA, University of Victoria, 2006 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTORATE OF PHILOSOPHY in THE COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Interdisciplinary Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Okanagan) March 2017 © Logan Cochrane, 2017 EXAMINATION COMMITTEE The undersigned certify that they have read, and recommend to the College of Graduate Studies for acceptance, a thesis entitled: Strengthening Food Security in Rural Ethiopia Submitted by Logan Cochrane in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Dr. John Wagner, Associate Professor, UBC (Okanagan) Supervisor Dr. Jon Corbett, Associate Professor, UBC (Okanagan) Supervisor Dr. Kevin Hanna, Associate Professor, UBC (Okanagan) Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Mary Stockdale, Sessional Instructor, UBC (Okanagan) Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Adam Jones, Professor, UBC (Okanagan) University Examiner Dr. Paul Shaffer, Associate Professor, Trent University External Examiner Date submitted to College of Graduate Studies: March 31, 2017 ! ii ABSTRACT Food insecurity in rural areas of southern Ethiopia is widespread; in recent years over half of all communities in this region have been reliant upon emergency support. However, food security status varies significantly from year to year, as the region experiences variations in rainfall patterns. Research is required to better understand how food security can be strengthened. To do so, this research was driven by three research questions. First, what makes smallholder farmers in southern Ethiopia vulnerable to food insecurity. Second, according to the literature, the adoption of programs and services is low, and thus a community-based assessment was undertaken to understand why. The third question reflected on the methodology – a participatory, co-produced approach, evaluating whether this form of engaged research enabled positive change. The findings suggest that vulnerability to food insecurity differs by scale. At the community level, access to irrigation infrastructure strengthened food security, and was the most transformative difference between the communities. Within communities, food security distribution was complex and few generalizations can be made. The participatory processes identified that research often makes invisible the purposeful and insightful choices farmers make. When surveyed, they are asked to provide generalizations about input use, crop choice and practices, when in reality each crop, input and practice varies. Similarly, some commonly used measures of vulnerability can also be expressions of security; aggregated averages obfuscate localized inequality. For some programs and services, adoption was found to be quite high – it was only when all services were analyzed as a package that adoption was low. However, not all programs and services served the food insecure households, and the reasons for this are explored in detail. The participatory, co-produced approach enabled unique research questions and metrics and added significant value to the research process, which may also enable long-term positive change to programs and services. Keywords: Food Security, Agriculture, Rural Development, Ethiopia, Co-production, Vulnerability, Adoption, Smallholder agriculture ! iii PREFACE This research project was approved the Behavior Research Ethics Board (BREB) at the University of British Columbia (Okanagan campus), Certificate H14-03358. I am solely responsible for the design and conduct of the research project, the analysis of the data and the writing of the dissertation. ! iv Table of Contents Examination Committee ..................................................................................................... ii Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Preface ................................................................................................................................ iv List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... ix Acronyms ............................................................................................................................ x Glossary of Amharic Terms ............................................................................................... xi Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................. xii Dedication ......................................................................................................................... xiv Chapter 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Ethiopia!...............................................................................................................................................................!6! 1.2 Research Questions!........................................................................................................................................!8! 1.3 Research Area!...............................................................................................................................................!11! 1.4 Thesis Structure!............................................................................................................................................!15! Chapter 2. Research Area ................................................................................................ 18 2.1 Ethiopia!............................................................................................................................................................!19! 2.2 SNNPR!............................................................................................................................................................!34! 2.3 Wolaita!.............................................................................................................................................................!44! 2.4 Damot Gale!....................................................................................................................................................!53! Chapter 3. Development, Power and Politics ................................................................... 61 3.1 Encountering Food Security!.....................................................................................................................!61! 3.2 Power and Politics!........................................................................................................................................!66! Chapter 4. On Food Security ........................................................................................... 71 4.1 Framing Food Security!...............................................................................................................................!72! 4.2 Measuring Food Security!...........................................................................................................................!79! 4.3 Theoretical Approach in this Research!................................................................................................!84! Chapter 5. Methods .......................................................................................................... 90 5.1 Stages of Food Security!..............................................................................................................................!94! 5.2 Limitations!....................................................................................................................................................!114! 5.3 Risk Mitigation!............................................................................................................................................!115! 5.4 Ethics Approval!...........................................................................................................................................!117! 5.5. Timing!..........................................................................................................................................................!120! Chapter 6. Vulnerability to Food Insecurity ................................................................... 121 6.1 Overview!.......................................................................................................................................................!121! ! v 6.2 Smallholder Farmers Vulnerable to Food Insecurity!.....................................................................!139! 6.3 Final Remarks on Vulnerability to Food Insecurity!.......................................................................!190! Chapter 7. Adoption of Extension Services and Programs ............................................ 192 7.1 Overview of Services and Programs!.....................................................................................................!192! 7.2 Adoption of Programs and Services!.....................................................................................................!209! 7.3 Final Remarks on the Adoption of Extension Services and Programs!.....................................!223!