The Indigenous Roles of Women in Household Food Security in Limpopo Province

2022 ◽  
pp. 89-98
Author(s):  
Agnes Sejabaledi Rankoana

The chapter describes women's roles in home-gardening to ensure household food security in a rural community in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Focus group discussions confirmed the women continue to produce indigenous crops as part of their cultural obligations to provide for household food security. This implies that the women are capable of maintaining the health and welfare of their households by ensuring food availability, accessibility, and utilization, which are important elements of food security. The study has implications for ending hunger and malnutrition as food is produced and preserved for future consumption. The food and preservation practices adopted by the women in the study could be incorporated into climate change mitigation and adaptation policies to address the challenge of poverty and malnutrition as per the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 2.

Author(s):  
O. N. Oladele ◽  
U. U. Emeghara ◽  
J. T. Ayodele ◽  
B. F. Ishola ◽  
T. A. Awobona ◽  
...  

Aims: This study examined the contribution of home gardening to household food security in IgabI Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. Study Design: The study was designed to collect data from 120 home gardeners using well structured questionnaire and personal interview of the gardeners by the researchers. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria between June to July, 2019. Methodology: Multi-stage, purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used to select 120 respondents. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as means, frequency distribution, table, percentage and Likert – scale. Results: The results showed male (65.83%) in their active age (87.50% are within the age range of 21-50 years) and highly educated (92.50%) with good number of years of experience in home gardening, (80% had over 5years of experience) dominated the practice of home gardening in the study area. The study also revealed that they produced many types of crops, about 32. The most popular crops cultivated were; tomato 91.67%),cowpea(87.50%),groundnut(82.50%),okra(75.00%), pumpkin (70.83%), spinach (70.83%) maize(56.67%),millet(56.67%),sorghum(51.67%), pepper (50.00%) and sweet potato (50.00%).The Likert--scale  result showed that all the home gardeners household were food secure and the study established that home gardening does not only  contribute to their house hold food supply but also their income. However the home gardening in the study area is faced with problems such as pests attack and diseases infestation (80.00%) and lack of farm inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and farm tools(75.00 %). Conclusion: The study revealed that home gardening contributed significantly to the household food security. It is therefore important to integrate home gardening into our farming system been a good tool for achieving food security among households and people  should also be sensitize to utilize empty plots  of land around their homestead for home gardens. 


Author(s):  
Never Mujere

Concerns of food and environmental security have increased enormously in recent years due to the vagaries of climate change and variability. Efforts to promote food security and environmental sustainability often reinforce each other and enable farmers to adapt to and mitigate the impact of climate change and other stresses. Some of these efforts are based on appropriate technologies and practices that restore natural ecosystems and improve the resilience of farming systems, thus enhancing food security. Climate smart agriculture (CSA) principles, for example, translate into a number of locally-devised and applied practices that work simultaneously through contextualised crop-soil-water-nutrient-pest-ecosystem management at a variety of scales. The purpose of this paper is to review concisely the current state-of-the-art literature and ascertain the potential of the Pfumvudza concept to enhance household food security, climate change mitigation and adaptation as it is promoted in Zimbabwe. The study relied heavily on data from print and electronic media. Datasets pertaining to carbon, nitrous oxide and methane storage in soils and crop yield under zero tillage and conventional tillage were compiled. Findings show that, compared to conventional farming, Pfumvudza has great potential to contribute towards household food security and reducing carbon emissions if implemented following the stipulated recommendations. These include among others, adequate land preparation and timely planting and acquiring inputs. However, nitrous oxide emissions tend to increase with reduced tillage and, the use of artificial fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides is environmentally unfriendly.


2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 818-826 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine L van Elsland ◽  
Marinka van der Hoeven ◽  
Shubhangini Joshi ◽  
Colleen M Doak ◽  
Maiza Campos Ponce

AbstractObjectiveTo explore associations between household food security and home gardening, use of soya and pressure cooker ownership in low-income households affected by HIV/AIDS in Aurangabad, India.DesignCross-sectional pilot study which assessed household food security using the validated US Department of Agriculture's food security core-module questionnaire. Questions were added to explore household environment, education, occupation, home gardening, use of soya and pressure cooker ownership. Households with very lowv. low food security were compared using logistic regression analysis, controlling for confounding by socio-economic status.SettingAurangabad is an urban setting situated in a primarily agricultural dependent area. The study was carried out in 2008, at the peak of the global food crisis.SubjectsAdult caregivers of children affiliated with the Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Aurangabad.ResultsAll except for one of 133 households were identified as food insecure (99·2 %). Of these households, 35·6 % had to cut size or skip a meal in the past 30 d. Households that cut meal size due to cooking fuel shortages were more likely to have very low food security (OR = 4·67; 95 % CI 1·62, 13·44) compared with households having no cooking fuel shortages. Owning a pressure cooker was shown to be protective against very low food security after controlling for confounding by socio-economic status (OR = 0·27; 95 % CI 0·11, 0·64).ConclusionsOnly pressure cooker ownership showed a protective association with low household food security. Pressure cookers save household fuel costs. Therefore, future interventions should explore pressure cookers as a sustainable means of improving household food security.


2014 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vongai G. Murugani ◽  
Joyce M. Thamaga-Chitja ◽  
Unathi Kolanisi ◽  
Hussein Shimelis

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas Gosdin ◽  
Diane Baik ◽  
Kate Reinsma ◽  
David Raminashvili ◽  
Hen Heang ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives The Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) is widely used though it has limited cross-cultural applicability. Among families with underweight children in three Cambodian districts, the HFIAS-derived prevalence of moderate/severe food insecurity was about 45%, though interviewers reported that caregivers have difficulty understanding the questions.This study seeks to develop a locally appropriate tool for measuring household food security in Cambodia. Methods Caregivers of children ages 6–24 months were screened using the Household Hunger Scale. Following Coping Strategies Index (CSI) guidance, three focus group discussions (FGD) were held with 25 food insecure caregivers from 10 villages. Participants developed a list of coping strategies in response to the question, “What do you do when you do not have enough food, and do not have enough money to buy food?” By consensus, participants weighted coping strategies in order of increasing severity. Strategies were assessed for inclusion using CSI criteria. The research and local teams combined the three lists into a single tool maintaining much of the local vocabulary. Results FGD 1 identified 16 coping strategies: one was excluded because it could not be done readily, and two were combined. FGD 2 identified 16: one was excluded because it was not repeatable, and four were combined into two. FGD 3 identified 19: six were combined into three. Seven strategies were identified in all three FGDs and seven were identified in two FGDs. Four strategies were identified in only one FGD. The resulting index is comprised of 18 coping strategies. Three strategies were weighted least severe (1). Example: “Eat rice without fish or meat.” Seven were weighted somewhat severe (2). Example: “Make food last longer by eating smaller portions and keeping it for longer than intended.” Five were weighted as more severe (3). Example: “Sell or consume seed stock held for next season.” Three strategies were weighted as most severe (4). Example: “Borrow rice or money from a lender or employer with high interest.” Conclusions Context-specific coping strategies may be useful in measuring food security in Cambodia. Future research is needed to examine the validity of this tool in comparison to established food insecurity experiences scales. Funding Sources World Vision Hong Kong. Supporting Tables, Images and/or Graphs


Author(s):  
O. E. Olagunju ◽  
O. C. Ariyo ◽  
U. U. Emeghara ◽  
O. S. Olagunju

Adequate nutrition is a crucial component of a healthy society. One of the major problems of human health is malnutrition and it is in every society. Rural households engage in food production, yet, they are mostly food insecure.This study accessed the determinants of food security among rural women in Kaduna state. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to draw the sample. Four rural Local Government Areas (LGAs) were randomly selected, while three villages were randomly sampled from each LGA resulting in 12 villages. Ten percent of the rural women in each of the sampled villages were randomly selected to give a total of 240 respondents. Interview schedule was used for data collection. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics such as Chi–square, Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) and Regression. Mean age was 29.7±8.08 years. Most (60.4%) of the respondents were Christians. Thirty-four percent of the respondents hadsecondary education while some (40.0%) of the respondents were involved in trading. Dry season was considered as season of abundance by majority (70.8%) of the respondents. PPMC indicates that age (r=0.119; p=0.009) and household size, (r = 0.221; P = 0.001) were significantly related with household food security, while position as wife (β= 0.194), household size (β= -0.173) and monthly income (β= -0.095) were major determinants of household food security. Rural women have reasonable access to food. The study recommends that rural women should practice home gardening and domesticate animals to enhance food secured rural family.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 795-809
Author(s):  
Haji Saediman ◽  
Abdul Gafaruddin ◽  
Hidrawati Hidrawati ◽  
Idrus Salam ◽  
Almira Ulimaz ◽  
...  

Home gardens are an essential component of the local food system and family farming worldwide. In Indonesia, a home food gardening program was initiated in the early 2010s to optimally utilize home yards for improving the adequacy of food consumption and nutrition intake of households. In the present challenging situation of Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a growing interest in home gardens to help mitigate food insecurity caused by food supply chain disruptions and the emergence of physical and economic barriers that limit access to food. This paper is a review of pertinent literature to find out the characteristics of home gardens and home gardening program in Indonesia and then examine their contribution to each pillar of food security: availability, access, utilization, and stability. The experiences of home gardens worldwide are reviewed to understand the global context of home gardens and food security. Literature reviews found a positive impact of home gardening program on food availability, access, and utilization. However, improving food stability through a home food gardening program is still a challenging task. This finding implies that the positive contribution of the home food gardening program to household food security is largely limited to the program period. Nevertheless, the program is still an important strategy to address food insecurity and nutrition deficiency of low-income households. Future research should assess factors affecting the sustainability of the program to derive viable models applicable in diverse circumstances. There is a need for research to assess the value and importance of home gardens as a coping strategy to reduce vulnerability and food insecurity in the present global Covid-19 pandemic.


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