Factors Influencing Household Food Security Among Irrigation Smallholders in North West Nigeria

Smallholder farmers and pastoralists produce the largest proportion of food consumed in sub-Saharan Africa. However, they remain among the food insecure populations. This paper explores the food (in)security among smallholder farmers and pastoralists using a sample of 175 households in three agro-food value chains of wheat, dairy, and beef in the north-west Mt. Kenya region. The study seeks to answer if a farmer’s participation in a particular agro-food value chain determines his/her food security situation. We use the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) and two Poisson regression models, parsimonious and full, to assess the household food security status and determinants of food security among the smallholder farmers and pastoralists. The results show that 61% of the households were either mildly, moderately, or severely food insecure. Households in the beef value chain experienced relatively higher incidences of food insecurity compared to households in the wheat and dairy value chains. The HFIAS scores revealed a wide gap between households with minimum and maximum score. Household size, income and income-related variables (ability to save and borrow to meet family needs), transport assets, membership in farmers’ associations, and household energy were significant in determining household food security, while access to credit and to extension services was not. Strategies that focus on boosting smallholder farmers’ incomes, building strong and resilient farmers associations to improve inclusive and equitable value chains have the potential to get smallholder farmers out of recurrent food insecurity.

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Poverty and household food security of black South African farm workers: the legacy of social inequalities

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/phn2005927 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 9 (7) ◽

pp. 830-836 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

A Kruger ◽

S Lemke ◽

Mars Phometsi ◽

H van't Riet ◽

AE Pienaar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Nutritional Status ◽

Social Inequalities ◽

Social Issues ◽

Living Conditions ◽

Farm Workers ◽

Household Food Security ◽

North West ◽

The North ◽

Household Food

AbstractObjectiveTo assess socio-economic indicators, nutritional status and living conditions of farm workers and their families, with the purpose to develop research and intervention programmes aimed at enhancing nutritional status and quality of life.Design and settingThree farm schools in two districts of the North-West Province and farming communities were selected. Anthropometrical measurements, structured face-to-face questionnaires and focus group discussions were carried out in 2002 and 2003 by a multidisciplinary research team.ResultsAccess to electricity, water and sanitation, as well as monthly food rations or subsidies, vary and depend on farm owners. The majority of adults have education below or up to grade four, farm schools provide only up to grade seven. Distance to farm schools and intra-household issues hamper children's attendance and performance at school. Household food security is compromised due to a lack of financial resources, infrastructure and also household resource allocation. This impacts negatively especially on children, with half of them being underweight, stunted or wasted. Employment is usually linked to men, while most women have access to casual jobs only. Insecurity of residence and the perceived disempowered position towards farm owners add to feelings of hopelessness and stress.Conclusions and recommendationsThis study highlights destitute living conditions of farm worker families. Apart from structural and financial constraints, paternalistic structures of the past might also hamper development. Based on these findings, follow-up research projects and in-depth investigations into underlying social issues with regard to nutrition insecurity and livelihoods of farm workers were initiated.

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Factors Influencing Household Food Security Status

Food and Nutrition Sciences ◽

10.4236/fns.2011.21004 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 02 (01) ◽

pp. 31-34 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Sharafkhani Rahim ◽

Dastgiri Saeed ◽

Gharaaghaji Asl Rasool ◽

Ghavamzadeh Saeed

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Household Food Security ◽

Factors Influencing ◽

Household Food ◽

Food Security Status

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Applying the Theory of Access to Food Security among Smallholder Family Farmers around North-West Mount Kenya

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12051751 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

pp. 1751 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Emily Mutea ◽

Stephan Rist ◽

Johanna Jacobi

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Property Rights ◽

Social Relations ◽

Private Property ◽

Household Food Security ◽

Hand Tools ◽

North West ◽

Household Food ◽

Food Insecure Households ◽

Access To Food

Access to productive resources such as land and water is fundamental for households that rely on crop and livestock production for their livelihoods. Research often assumes that agricultural production—and thus, food security—are favoured by tenure security of resources (as represented by a “bundle of property rights”). However, research has not yet elucidated how food security is influenced by additional factors, represented within a “bundle of powers”. Guided by the Theory of Access developed by Ribot and Peluso, we explore the main factors in the respective bundles of rights and powers that influence household food security around north-west Mount Kenya. We interviewed 76 households—38 food secure and 38 food insecure—who were subsampled from a previous food security survey of 380 households. Results show that household food insecurity was not exclusively the result of a lack of private property rights as many farmers had retained their property rights. Instead, a major factor preventing access to productive resources was the difficulty faced by food insecure households in accessing farm technology (i.e. hand tools and implements). Access to authority and via social relations were significantly correlated with access to technology, so improving the latter must take into account the former.

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