Rural household food security status and its determinants: The case of Laelaymychew Woreda, Central Zone of Tigrai, Ethiopia

An assessment and analysis on food security status and its determinant, the experience of the farmers’ food insecurity coping mechanisms and the major farm operation problems were the major focusing objectives of this study; which was conducted in Laelaymychew Woreda Central Zone of Tigrai. The required data was collected from three kebeles of 125 randomly selected rural households. The data collected were presented, organized and discussed using descriptive statistics and econometric model analyses.  According to the survey result the study shows that 31.2% and 68.8% of sample households were found to be food secure and food insecure, respectively. In addition, the model results revealed total cultivated land holding size, total livestock holding, total annual income per AE and use of chemical fertilizer were found positively related and statistically significant to food security status in the study area. Similarly, family size of the households was also found negatively related and statistically significant to food security status of the rural households. Collecting data in a given interval and working with the farmers at the grass root level will ensure the accuracy of household food security prevalence and proper attention has to be given to limit the rapidly growing population. In addition, increasing production and improving productivity is possible through integrated water shed management and extending small scale irrigation.   Key words: Food security, determinants, coping strategy.