Abstract:
Ethiopian rural households are heavily reliant on small-scale, rain-fed agriculture for their
livelihoods. The use of existing water resources for irrigation development is the most promising
answer to the country's unpredictable rainfall patterns and periodic droughts, which make
agricultural production challenging and to enhance the food security of smallholder farmers.
The primary goal of this study was to assess the determinants of SSI participation and the impact
of SSI on household food security in the Jarso District of East Hararghe zone. The study was
based on the data collected from 368 randomly selected smallholder farmers in 2022 using a
multi-stage sampling technique in the study area. The study employed Descriptive and
Endogenous Switching Regression (ESR) model to address the research objectives. The result
reveals that 66.8% out of the total sampled households were food secured. Food security was
achieved by 75.6% of irrigation users and 53.7% of non-users. The Probit model result showed
that, educational level of household head, numbers of livestock holding, land size, access to
extension service and off/non-farm income positively and significantly affect irrigation
participation whereas distance to irrigation water source and distance to the nearest market
negatively and significantly affect irrigation participation. The impact results obtained from ERS
model indicated that, calorie intake decrease by 354.5 kilocalories for irrigation users if they
decided to not use and calorie intake of non-users increase by 372.47 kilocalories if they decided
to use irrigation. Further, food consumption score decreased by 8.39 points if SSI users had
decided to not use. On the other hand, non-users food consumption score increased by 10 points
if they decided to use SSI. Therefore, the results suggest that policymakers and planner should
consider SSI as a strategy to reduce food insecurity of stallholders farming households
