Small holder households in Ethiopia have traditionally consumed food mostly grown on their own farms.
While they continue to rely on self-produced grains, vegetables, meats, and eggs for a large portion of
their diet, households are now purchasing more of their food from the market. This study is intended to
investigate the determinant factors of food consumption commercialization (market based
consumption). In this regard, it has employed descriptive and econometric approaches. As indicated in
the study results, on average, about two-third (65%) of smallholders consume their entire food item
from market purchases, while around one third (35%) of the sample households do not consume from
the market. This implies that most smallholders were market oriented in their consumption. Applying
the generalized linear model (glm) for the fractional response variable of commercialization,
determinants of market based consumption (commercialization in food consumption) have been
investigated. The results indicated that while sex (female), education, religion, TLU, production
commercialization, agro-ecology (cool), and land size 0.5 to 2 hectares affect consumption
commercialization positively and significantly; age, family size, regional states, marital status, level of
output, extension service, credit service, distance to weekly market, and land size above 2 hectares affect
negatively and significantly, calling for remedies to improve commercialization.