Determinants of livelihood diversification strategies in Eastern Tigray Region of Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, farm households engage and pursue diverse off-farm and non-farm livelihood activities to cope with diverse challenges such as drought. Due to the unstable and meagre agricultural context of the study area, farm income alone could not feed the ever increasing population. Without adopting context based livelihood diversification strategies; the challenge it presents could neither meet nor attain household food security and improve livelihood security. The objective of the study was to analyse the determinants of livelihood diversification strategies among rural households in Eastern Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Multistage sampling technique was used in selecting the study sites and 485 sample respondents. Data were triangulated with information collected using focus group discussion and key informants interview to draw qualitative conclusion. Majority (83.1%) of the farmers were able to diversify their livelihoods into either off-farm or non-farm or combined income activities, whereas the remaining 16.91% of the households were unable to diversify; often lacking the means to engage in any form of income-generating activity apart from agricultural activities. Results of the multinomial logistic regression model revealed that households choice and adoption of livelihood diversification strategies were positively affected by households level of education, access to credit, income, membership to cooperatives, land size, and farm input use, whereas age, dependency ratio, family size, access to extension services, distance to market, livestock ownership and agro-ecology negatively affected. Diversification into non-farm activities plays a significant role in the context of inadequate and rain-fed-dependent agricultural income households. Households who diversified their livelihood activities are the ones who able to build better asset and less vulnerable than the undiversified ones. Smallholder farmers’ food security and livelihood improvement can only be realized if the government give due attention and put the right policy measures in place that support non-farm livelihood diversification as part of national job creation for saving life of many people and better livelihood.