ACCESSIBILITY OF RURAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURES AND FOOD SECURITY AMONG RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN KERSA DISTRICT, SOUTH WESTERN ETHIOPIA

摘要

PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURES SUCH AS ROADS, AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICES, ELECTRICITY, ICT, PROTECTED WATER SOURCES, IRRIGATION, EDUCATION CENTERS, AND HEALTH CENTERS ARE ESSENTIAL FOR ECONOMY AND SOCIETY TO OPERATE PROPERLY. THE OBJECTIVE OF STUDY WAS TO EXAMINE THE ACCESSIBILITY OF THESE RURAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURES IN RURAL AREAS AND THEIR POSITIVE INFLUENCE ON RURAL PEOPLE’S FOOD SECURITY. THIS STUDY BORROWED THE PRAGMATIST RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY THAT ADVOCATES ONTOLOGICAL AND EPISTEMOLOGICAL MIXES IN AN EFFORT TO MINIMIZE THE GAPS NOTED ON THE EMPIRICAL KNOWLEDGE. ACCORDINGLY, QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE APPROACHES WERE EMPLOYED. DATA ANALYSIS HAS FOLLOWED A CONVERGENT DESIGN THAT COMBINED DESCRIPTIVE AND INFERENTIAL TECHNIQUES WITH THE THEMES EMERGING THROUGH QUALITATIVE DATA. CONSEQUENTLY, THE FINDINGS OF THE RESEARCH REVEALED THAT PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURES HAVE A SIGNIFICANT ASSOCIATION RURAL PEOPLE FOOD SECURITY. SPECIFICALLY, THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT ASSOCIATIONS WHEREBY HOUSEHOLDS WHO HAVE AN ACCESS TO AN ASSUMED INFRASTRUCTURE MORE LIKELY IMPROVE THEIR FOOD SECURITY THAN HOUSEHOLDS WHO HADN’T ACCESS TO RESPECTIVE RURAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURES. THUS GOVERNMENT AND OTHERS RESPONSIBLE BODIES ARE NEEDED TO INVEST MORE ON PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURES TO REACH OUT TO RURAL PEOPLE TO IMPROVE THEIR FOOD SECURITY.