This study was conducted in rural villages of Ethiopia. It aimed to analyze the statistical association between rural multidimensional poverty, livelihoods, and access to agricultural extension services. A cross-sectional household-level primary data were collected from 387 samples. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Results show that no statistical significance differences between sample head choices of livelihood strategies and multidimensional poverty categories, access to agricultural extension services, and multidimensional livelihood security and food security indices. However, a Sadik post-hoc test result showed the presence of statistically significant differences between sample heads who participated in off-farm vis-à-vis on-farm activities only but not between the rest. Hence, it is possible to conclude that there exists an inverse association between rural households’ choices of livelihood strategies and multidimensional poverty, access to agricultural extension services, and multidimensional poverty. Thus, rural development policies that incorporate choices of enumerative livelihood strategies and pluralistic agricultural extension services to rural households’ are required. Furthermore, the study concludes sample heads who pursued plausible livelihood strategies are found in a state of well-protected multidimensional livelihood security and hence policies that create a synergy between choices of livelihood strategies and multidimensional livelihood security should be in place.

Keywords: Rural households, Poverty, Livelihoods, Agricultural extension services, ANOVA, Jimma Geneti woreda (Ethiopia)