Poverty, Land Resource Management and Gender Participation in Libokemkem District of Northern Ethiopia

Abstract

High population pressure and land degradation are threats of food security in the highlands of Ethiopia. Poverty and food insecurity are closely related phenomena.Both of them compel poor farmers to practice unwise use and resource management, which lead to low resource productivity. This study examines the various factors determining poverty and resource management at a household level with gender perspective in Libokemekem district of Ethiopia. Farm level diversification of crops and mitigating food insecurity is highly constrained due to lack of farm resources principally limited land size. Consequently, households with large family sizes and limited resources are vulnerable to food insecurity. Although households practice various coping mechanisms and alternative resource management strategies, they are not sufficient to curb household food security. The magnitude however, varies between female and male-headed households.Socioeconomic factors such as age, soil type, farm size, sex of household heads, area under rice production, number of oxen, and slope of the land are among the major factors to influence and discriminate between female and male-headed households. This study concludes by highlighting and indicating possible direction for policy intervention in view of enhancing food security and sustainable resource management.