Community-Based Recurrent Drought Coping Strategies and Their Implications to Households’ Food Security in East Bale Zone, Ethiopia

Drought is a major consequence of climate change that has made it more frequent and severe for the livelihoods of farming communities in Ethiopia. The general objective of the study was to identify community-based recurrent drought coping Strategies and indicate its implication to households’ food security in East Bale, Ethiopia. The study employs a cross-sectional research design, and data were collected from 323 randomly selected households through focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and a household survey. In the study area, 98% of households adopted different drought coping strategies, including flock depopulation, reliance on relief support, and seasonal mobility. The study findings clearly reveal the effect of recurrent drought on agricultural (crop and livestock) production. Food security analysis also shows that, in the study area, 81.73% of the sampled households were food insecure while only 18.27% were food secure. The investigation of gender differences showed that women faced limited access to resources, which hinder the decision making roles and economic participation to improve their livelihoods. The study recommends that it is important to enable women and empower gender equality to improve community-based resilience and food security. To reduce the impacts of recurrent drought on agricultural production, livelihood, and food security in the study area, policy recommendations include drought tolerance and resistance in high-yielding varieties, increasing access to water by using water harvesting technology and use for irrigation, and launching community self-support networks.