DETERMINANTS OF RURAL HOUSEHOLD DIETARY DIVERSITY: THE CASE OF BAMBASI DISTRICT BENISHANGUL GUMUZ REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Malnutrition remains one of the development challenges in Ethiopia. It is the result of low consumption of diversified food by households. The poor rural and urban populations of Ethiopia were highly vulnerable to malnutrition and undernourishment. Despite encouraging progress in reducing malnutrition, it still remains to be a major health and development concern in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study examines the determinants of dietary diversity of rural household in the study area. For the purpose of this study, primary data were collected from a randomly drawn 260 rural households in five kebeles by using semi-structure interview schedule. The dietary diversity data were collected from the respondents by using seven days recalling periods. A multistage sampling technique was used. A descriptive statistics and an ordered logistic regression model were the main tools of analysis of this study. Of the total sample respondents, 23.46% fall into low dietary diversity and 45.39% fall into medium dietary diversity while the remaining 31.15% of the sample households fall into high dietary diversity. This study shows that indigenous households have better dietary diversity status than the non-indigenous households in the study area and significantly difference between them. The food group consumption behaviours of indigenous households were inclined to milk, egg, white root and tuber and fish foods whereas non-indigenous households were the higher consumer of spices and vegetables than indigenous households. Of the 16 explanatory variables included in the model, six were found to be significant at less than 10% probability level. Accordingly, age of the household head, educational status of the household head, total annual farm income, access to extension services and participation in an irrigation scheme were found to be the most important positive determinants of dietary diversity. On the other hand, dependency ratio was found to negatively and significantly affect dietary diversity of the household. The study concludes that increasing access to education, extension service and irrigation as well as increasing farming income of the households can increase household dietary diversity.