Determinants of Vulnerability to Poverty in Amhara Region, Ethiopia: Evidences from Rural Households of Gubalafto Woreda

Abstract

People in Amhara Regional State, particularly rural population in Gubalafto Woreda safer from man-made problems and environmental distractions. Households in the study area were suffered from a successive food deficit and famine, and large numbers of residents were vulnerable to poverty in the last ten years. Per year, around 35 percent of the total population survives and depends on emergency relief food aid in the last two-consecutive years. The study was set out to examine the extent and determinants of vulnerability to poverty in the study area and to identify the major shocks that the households were encountered. Primary data was collected from the stratified random sample of 250 households undertaken from three agro-ecological zones to achieve the research objectives using cross-sectional observation. This study revealed that, 37.42 percent of sample household being under poverty at a period ahead. Only 30.8 percents of sample households were unable to deserve their basic needs at a current time in the first parts of the paper. However, after a year, large number of people those who are currently non-poor becomes poorer. The OLS and 3FGLS analytical model used to assesses the determinants of vulnerability to poverty. Consequently, family size, participation on wage employment, distance to the main market and kolla agroecological dummy affect vulnerability to poverty positively. On the other hand, oxen, land size, non-livestock asset, participation on own business, access to credit and access to extension service affects vulnerability to poverty negatively and significantly. Moreover, village level infrastructural facility has an effect on household vulnerability to poverty negatively and significantly. At the end, rural household vulnerability to poverty closely linked with demographic characteristics, asset holding, infrastructural facilities, and institutional services.

Keywords: Vulnerability to Poverty, Determinants, Rural Household, Northern Amhara, Ethiopia.