The effects of COVID-19 policies on livelihoods and food security of smallholder farm households in Nigeria: Descriptive results from a phone survey

We calculated a simple indicator of food availability using data from 93 sites in 17 countries across contrasted agroecologies in sub-Saharan Africa (>13,000 farm households) and analyzed the drivers of variations in food availability. Crop production was the major source of energy, contributing 60% of food availability. The off-farm income contribution to food availability ranged from 12% for households without enough food available (18% of the total sample) to 27% for the 58% of households with sufficient food available. Using only three explanatory variables (household size, number of livestock, and land area), we were able to predict correctly the agricultural determined status of food availability for 72% of the households, but the relationships were strongly influenced by the degree of market access. Our analyses suggest that targeting poverty through improving market access and off-farm opportunities is a better strategy to increase food security than focusing on agricultural production and closing yield gaps. This calls for multisectoral policy harmonization, incentives, and diversification of employment sources rather than a singular focus on agricultural development. Recognizing and understanding diversity among smallholder farm households in sub-Saharan Africa is key for the design of policies that aim to improve food security.

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Exploring the profitability of improved storage technologies and their potential impacts on food security and income of smallholder farm households in Tanzania

Journal of Stored Products Research ◽

10.1016/j.jspr.2019.04.003 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 82 ◽

pp. 98-109 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Bekele Hundie Kotu ◽

Adebayo B. Abass ◽

Irmgard Hoeschle-Zeledon ◽

Hanney Mbwambo ◽

Mateete Bekunda

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Farm Households ◽

Smallholder Farm ◽

Storage Technologies

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Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agricultural production, livelihoods, and food security in India: baseline results of a phone survey

Food Security ◽

10.1007/s12571-021-01164-w ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lindsay M. Jaacks ◽

Divya Veluguri ◽

Rajesh Serupally ◽

Aditi Roy ◽

Poornima Prabhakaran ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Agricultural Production ◽

Dietary Diversity ◽

The Past ◽

Phone Survey ◽

Extra Food ◽

The Government ◽

Time Of Year ◽

Livestock Products ◽

The Impact

AbstractThe aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on agricultural production, livelihoods, food security, and dietary diversity in India. Phone interview surveys were conducted by trained enumerators across 12 states and 200 districts in India from 3 to 15 May 2020. A total of 1437 farmers completed the survey (94% male; 28% 30–39 years old; 38% with secondary schooling). About one in ten farmers (11%) did not harvest in the past month with primary reasons cited being unfavorable weather (37%) and lockdown-related reasons (24%). A total of 63% of farmers harvested in the past month (primarily wheat and vegetables), but only 44% had sold their crop; 12% were still trying to sell their crop, and 39% had stored their crop, with more than half (55%) reporting lockdown-related issues as the reason for storing. Seventy-nine percent of households with wage-workers witnessed a decline in wages in the past month and 49% of households with incomes from livestock witnessed a decline. Landless farmers were about 10 times more likely to skip a meal as compared to large farmers (18% versus 2%), but a majority reported receiving extra food rations from the government. Nearly all farmers reported consuming staple grains daily in the past week (97%), 63% consumed dairy daily, 40% vegetables daily, 26% pulses daily, and 7% fruit daily. These values are much lower than reported previously for farmers in India around this time of year before COVID-19: 94–95% dairy daily, 57–58% pulses daily, 64–65% vegetables daily, and 42–43% fruit daily. In conclusion, we found that the COVID-19 lockdown in India has primarily impacted farmers’ ability to sell their crops and livestock products and decreased daily wages and dietary diversity.

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What Explains Gender Gaps in Household Food Security? Evidence from Maize Farm Households in Southern Ethiopia

Social Indicators Research ◽

10.1007/s11205-020-02600-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Girma Gezimu Gebre ◽

Hiroshi Isoda ◽

Yuichiro Amekawa ◽

Dil Bahadur Rahut ◽

Hisako Nomura ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Food Security ◽

Farm Households ◽

Primary Data ◽

Household Food Security ◽

Southern Ethiopia ◽

Lower Probability ◽

Gender Gaps ◽

Joint Decision ◽

Household Food

AbstractUsing primary data collected from 560 farm households in Dawuro zone, southern Ethiopia, this study analyzes the gender gaps in food security among male, female, and joint decision-making farm households. It examines the factors inducing gender gaps among the households of those three categories. The results show that female decision-making households have a lower probability of ensuring food-security and a higher probability of being transitionally and chronically food-insecure. Joint decision-making households showed a higher probability of falling into the chronically food-insecure category. The decomposition results show significant gender gaps between male and female decision-making households in terms of food-secure, transitory food-insecure, and chronically food-insecure categories. Overall, both the endowment and return effects account for the gaps; however, the magnitude of the effect from the return is higher than from the endowment on significant gaps in the food-secure, transitory, and chronically food-insecure categories. Hence, there is a need for policies that not only ensure equal levels of productive resources but also help households build their capacity in order to improve both transitory and chronically food insecure situations.

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