Assessing Rural Household Livelihoods and Diversification Strategies in Northeast Ethiopia

Abstract

Diversification allows livelihoods to be more resilient against all forms of shocks. This study assessed rural household livelihoods and diversification strategies in Raya Kobo District, Northeast Ethiopia. A convergent parallel research design combined with a mixed study approach was employed. The quantitative data were collected from 354 randomly selected respondents, while the qualitative data were collected from purposefully chosen FGDs and KIs. The statistical techniques used include descriptive statistics to analyse livelihood options, the Simpson index of diversity for calculating the livelihood diversification index, and a multinomial logistic regression model to identify livelihood strategy determinants. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically. The results indicate that farm and nonfarm activities are feasible livelihood strategies, but farm activity is the dominant livelihood strategy. Households from lowland agro-ecologies had more diversified livelihoods than those in highland and midland agro-ecologies because of better asset accessibility. Agroecology, education, crop farm size, TLU, and social services are positive determinants of livelihoods, whereas dependency ratio, conflicts, ex-coping strategies, and pest attacks are negative determinants. This study has policy implications for achieving sustainable livelihoods.