Seasonal energy stress in an Ethiopian rural community: an analysis of the impact at the household level

Abstract

The household integrated response to seasonal fluctuations in food availability and work load was assessed in a longitudinal study in two villages of southern Ethiopia. The household response to energy stress was estimated by pooling weight changes of all members of the family, accounting for the diverse biological and functional meaning of weight losses of different age and sex groups, and levels of nutritional status. On average, seasonal energy stress experienced by the households was modest (3.3%, P < 0.05 by Tukey test). The cumulative weight change of poor households was twice as large as that of rich ones, and evidence was obtained of their further deterioration over the following agricultural year. Household food availability fluctuated seasonally, with evident socio-economic gradient: in the early pre-harvest season food stocks of poor households were 6.5 times smaller than those of better-off families (P < 0.001 by ANOVA). Unlike rich households, poor families markedly decreased the time devoted to agriculture in the pre-harvest season. Crop selection, quality of land management and time employed in agricultural work might have synergistically concurred to cause the stress situation.