Assessing Soil Nutrient Depletion to Household Food Insecurity in the Smallholders Farming System in the Western Hills of Lake Abaya, Ethiopia

Abstract

Soil nutrient depletion is major environmental problems that threaten food security in Ethiopia, especially in the study area. It can be regarded as a direct result of the past agricultural practices in the area. In the study, an attempt has been made to examine the adverse effect of soil nutrient depletion to the household livelihood situation in the western hills of Lake Abaya, Ethiopia.

To assess the research data methodologies such as soil analysis, food balance sheet, per capita food availability in kilocalories and multiple regression models were utilized. The laboratory analysis of soil had shown that organic matter, cation exchange capacity (CEC), available phosphorus and potassium content of the soil is progressively decreasing away from the homestead. The study further revealed that 61 percent of the household’s feed themselves for not more than nine months in a year against 28.2 percent, those from low-lying areas are self-sufficient. An analysis of this kind would help the local government to take timely intervention and help planners and donor agencies to include the problems as a priority area of intervention in their program.

Keywords: Soil nutrient depletion, Food insecurity, Food balance sheet, Per capita food availability.