简介:Background:Theroleofwildfoodsincombatingproblemsoffoodshortageisparamount.However,existingapproachestocombatfoodinsecurityshockhavegenerallyfocusedonreducingvulnerabilityviaincreasingproductivityofdomesticatedfoods.Incontrast,approachesthatenhanceresiliencemainlythroughwildfoodsourceshavebeenlessfocused.ThisstudyexaminedthecontributionofwildfoodstohouseholdresiliencetofoodinsecurityinthegreenfaminebeltofEthiopia.Methods:Across-sectionalsurveyof220householdswasconductedusingastructuredquestionnaire,keyinformantinterviews,andsemi-participantobservations.FactoranalysiswasrunusingSPSStoanalyzedata.Correlationanalysiswasusedtoexaminethedirectionandstrengthofassociationbetweenwildfoodsandtheincomeandfoodaccess(IFA),alatentproxyindicatorofresilience.Cross-tabulationwasalsoruntodeterminetheproportionofhouseholdsineachethno-culturegroupundereachresiliencecategory.Results:Themeanamountofwildfoodsobtainedbyhouseholdswas156.61kgperhouseholdperannum.Thiswasabout5%and9%of,grossand,netfoodavailablefromallsourcesrespectively.Wildfoodscontributedwelltohouseholdresilienceasthefactorloading(Factor2=0.467)waslargeenoughandweresignificantlycorrelatedwithIFA(r=0.174).Wildvegetableswerethemostcollectedandconsumedtypeofwildfoodsconstituting52.4%oftotalamountofwildfoods.Thetotalamountofwildfoodswassmallerthanthatofdomesticatedsourcesoffood.Themajorityofhouseholds(38.6%)reported'reducedsourceofwildfoods'asareasonforthis.Smallerproportionoftheindigenous(11.2%)thanthenon-indigenous(34.1%)ethno-culturegroupreportedoneormorereasonsfortheirlowerlevelofdependenceonwildfoods.Conclusion:Fromthestudyweconcludedthatwildfoodshadimportantcontributiontohouseholds'resiliencetofoodshortagesandarelikelytocontinuetocontributeinthefuture,thisbeingmoretoindigenousthannon-indigenousethno-