Agricultural crime victimization and food security outcomes among smallholder farmers in rural Tanzania

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

This article explores the relationship between agricultural crime victimization, including theft and vandalism of crops and livestock, and food security of smallholder farming households. We use a distinctive panel dataset from rural Tanzania collected in 2016, 2018, and 2021 and measure various dimensions of food security using the Food Consumption Score (FCS), the Household Food Insecurity Access Score (HFIAS) and the Reduced Coping Strategies Index (rCSI). We use the linear two-way fixed effects model to analyze the association between victimization and FCS, and Tobit regression model for HFIAS and rCSI. Our findings reveal that on average, households suffer losses from crime equivalent to 6% of total food expenditure in a year. While vandalism is consistently linked to lower food security across all indicators, theft of crops and livestock is associated with higher HFIAS and rCSI scores, suggesting greater food insecurity. These findings necessitate the need to recognize agricultural crime victimization as an emerging threat to food security that requires attention and intervention in rural communities.