Smallholder farmers play a significant role in rural economic growth, as they contribute a large portion of the workforce in the rural areas. Consumption of less diverse diets and inadequate access to sufficient food poses a danger for their health. We assessed the food security status and nutrition of smallholder farming households in Imo State, South-East Nigeria. We identified sources of food availability of the households, determined the food security status of the farming households and also determined factors affecting the food security status of the farmers. This study used survey data from 195 smallholder farming households in Imo State, South-East Nigeria. Household dietary diversity score (HDDS) and binary logistic regression model were employed to estimate the food security status and the determinants. The results show that the farmers engaged in different farming systems, including crop production, livestock production and mixed farming. The farming households relied on their farm production and food purchases to meet their energy and dietary needs, with food gifts supplementing the food available to some households. We found that male-headed households were more food secure than female-headed households. The number of food insecure households were relatively higher than the percentage of households that were food secure. The age of the household head, education, sex, household size and market-orientation significantly influence the food security status of the farming households. It is recommended that farmers should engage in diverse farming systems as well as market orientation to enhance the nutrition and food security of their households.
| Published in | International Journal of Agricultural Economics (Volume 7, Issue 2) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijae.20220702.12 |
| Page(s) | 69-74 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Dietary Diversity, Food Consumption Score, Market Orientation, Food Security, Female-Headed Household
| [1] | https://sdgs.un.org/goals |
| [2] | FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO. 2019. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2019. Safeguarding against economic slowdowns and downturns. Rome, FAO. |
| [3] | Hlophe-Ginindza, S. N.; Mpandeli, N. S. The role of small-scale farmers in ensuring food security in Africa. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.91694 |
| [4] | FAO, (2017). Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in Africa. The Challenges of Building Resilience to Shocks and Stresses, Accra, Ghana. |
| [5] | Emmanuel, O. A, Therese, G, Toluwalope, E. E., and Busie M. D (2019). Assessment of Dietary Diversity of Mothers and Children of 6–24 Months from Eastern and Southern Provinces of Zambia. Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/1049820 |
| [6] | National Population Commission. Nigeria Federal Government Initiative of individual head count by gender, Spread, State by State. Nigeria NPC, 2006. |
| [7] | FAO, 2002. International scientific symposium on measurement and assessment of food deprivation and under-nutrition. Executive summary. June 26-28. FAO/Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping System, Rome. |
| [8] | Agidew, A. A.; Singh, K. N. (2018). Determinants of food insecurity in the rural farm households in South Wollo Zone of Ethiopia: the case of the Teleyayen sub-watershed. Agricultural and Food Economics, 6 (10). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40100-018-0106-4 |
| [9] | Bouis, H. Food consumption surveys: How random are measurement errors? In: Von Braun J, Puet D (eds). Data needs for food policy in developing countries. International food policy research institute, Washington, D.C., 1993. |
| [10] | World Food Programme (WFP). Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis Guidelines. United Nations World Food Programme, Rome, Italy, 2008. |
| [11] | Zanello, G.; Shankar, B.; Poole, N. (2019). Buy or make? Agricultural production diversity, markets and dietary diversity in Afghanistan. Food Policy, 87 (101731). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2019.101731. |
| [12] | Tibesigwa, B., & Visser, M. (2016). Assessing gender inequality in food security among small-holder farm households in urban and rural South Africa. World Development, 88, 33-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2016.07.008 |
| [13] | Micronutrient Initiative (2009). Investing in the future: A united call to action on vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Global Report 2009 www.unitedcalltoaction.org/documents/Investing_in_the_future.pdf Accessed 20th, March, 2017. |
| [14] | Osuji, E. E.; Ehirim, N. C.; Balogun, O. L.; Onyebinama, I. C. (2017). Analysis of food security among farming households in Imo State. International Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development, 20 (2): 3021-3027. |
| [15] | Oyesola, O., Adebayo, B. A., Tahirou, A., Adebusola, A. A., Matthew, O. A., Emmanuel, F., & Awoyale, W. (2020). The influence of social networking on food security status of cassava farming households in Nigeria. Sustainability, 12, 5420. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12135420 |
| [16] | Ankrah, D. A.; Freeman, C. Y.; Afful, A. Gendered access to productive resources - evidence from smallholder farmers in Awutu Senya West District of Ghana. Scientific African, 10, e00604. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2020.e00604 |
| [17] | Ojogho, O. (2010). Determinants of food insecurity among arable framers in Edo State, Nigeria. Agricultural Journal, 5 (3): 151-156. https://doi.org/10.3923/aj.2010.151.156 |
| [18] | Henri-Ukoha, A.; Ibekwe, U. C.; Chidiebere-Mark, N. M.; Ejike, R. D.; Oparadim, O. (2013). Determinants of food security in female headed households involved in individual tenure system in Abia State, Southeast, Nigeria. Global Journal of Agricultural Research, 4 (2): 23-26. |
APA Style
Nneka Maris Chidiebere-Mark, Chinwe Evangel Ahaneku, Adewale Adeyemi Oluwaseun. (2022). Food Security and Nutrition of Smallholder Farming Households in South-East Nigeria: Evidence from Imo State. International Journal of Agricultural Economics, 7(2), 69-74. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20220702.12
ACS Style
Nneka Maris Chidiebere-Mark; Chinwe Evangel Ahaneku; Adewale Adeyemi Oluwaseun. Food Security and Nutrition of Smallholder Farming Households in South-East Nigeria: Evidence from Imo State. Int. J. Agric. Econ. 2022, 7(2), 69-74. doi: 10.11648/j.ijae.20220702.12
AMA Style
Nneka Maris Chidiebere-Mark, Chinwe Evangel Ahaneku, Adewale Adeyemi Oluwaseun. Food Security and Nutrition of Smallholder Farming Households in South-East Nigeria: Evidence from Imo State. Int J Agric Econ. 2022;7(2):69-74. doi: 10.11648/j.ijae.20220702.12
Share This Article
Twitter
Linked In
Facebook
Copy
Download@article{10.11648/j.ijae.20220702.12,
author = {Nneka Maris Chidiebere-Mark and Chinwe Evangel Ahaneku and Adewale Adeyemi Oluwaseun},
title = {Food Security and Nutrition of Smallholder Farming Households in South-East Nigeria: Evidence from Imo State},
journal = {International Journal of Agricultural Economics},
volume = {7},
number = {2},
pages = {69-74},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijae.20220702.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20220702.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijae.20220702.12},
abstract = {Smallholder farmers play a significant role in rural economic growth, as they contribute a large portion of the workforce in the rural areas. Consumption of less diverse diets and inadequate access to sufficient food poses a danger for their health. We assessed the food security status and nutrition of smallholder farming households in Imo State, South-East Nigeria. We identified sources of food availability of the households, determined the food security status of the farming households and also determined factors affecting the food security status of the farmers. This study used survey data from 195 smallholder farming households in Imo State, South-East Nigeria. Household dietary diversity score (HDDS) and binary logistic regression model were employed to estimate the food security status and the determinants. The results show that the farmers engaged in different farming systems, including crop production, livestock production and mixed farming. The farming households relied on their farm production and food purchases to meet their energy and dietary needs, with food gifts supplementing the food available to some households. We found that male-headed households were more food secure than female-headed households. The number of food insecure households were relatively higher than the percentage of households that were food secure. The age of the household head, education, sex, household size and market-orientation significantly influence the food security status of the farming households. It is recommended that farmers should engage in diverse farming systems as well as market orientation to enhance the nutrition and food security of their households.},
year = {2022}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Food Security and Nutrition of Smallholder Farming Households in South-East Nigeria: Evidence from Imo State AU - Nneka Maris Chidiebere-Mark AU - Chinwe Evangel Ahaneku AU - Adewale Adeyemi Oluwaseun Y1 - 2022/03/23 PY - 2022 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20220702.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ijae.20220702.12 T2 - International Journal of Agricultural Economics JF - International Journal of Agricultural Economics JO - International Journal of Agricultural Economics SP - 69 EP - 74 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2575-3843 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijae.20220702.12 AB - Smallholder farmers play a significant role in rural economic growth, as they contribute a large portion of the workforce in the rural areas. Consumption of less diverse diets and inadequate access to sufficient food poses a danger for their health. We assessed the food security status and nutrition of smallholder farming households in Imo State, South-East Nigeria. We identified sources of food availability of the households, determined the food security status of the farming households and also determined factors affecting the food security status of the farmers. This study used survey data from 195 smallholder farming households in Imo State, South-East Nigeria. Household dietary diversity score (HDDS) and binary logistic regression model were employed to estimate the food security status and the determinants. The results show that the farmers engaged in different farming systems, including crop production, livestock production and mixed farming. The farming households relied on their farm production and food purchases to meet their energy and dietary needs, with food gifts supplementing the food available to some households. We found that male-headed households were more food secure than female-headed households. The number of food insecure households were relatively higher than the percentage of households that were food secure. The age of the household head, education, sex, household size and market-orientation significantly influence the food security status of the farming households. It is recommended that farmers should engage in diverse farming systems as well as market orientation to enhance the nutrition and food security of their households. VL - 7 IS - 2 ER -
Email: