An Empirical Investigation of Food Security Status in Urban Households in Niger-Delta, Nigeria

Abstract

The Niger Delta has been faced with the problem of food insecurity which affected the living standard of the people in the region. This study therefore examined the status of food security in urban households in the Niger Delta region. In order to achieve this aim, a survey research was conducted involving the use of questionnaires. A multistage sampling technique was used to determine the sample size of 240 respondents from 12 communities in 6 local government areas spread across Edo and Delta states. Binary Logistic regression model and Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) were used to analyze the data obtained from the questionnaires. The findings reveal that 49.51% of the sampled households are food secure while 50.49% of the households are food insecure. In addition, Household size, Educational Status of the household head and Household Income were identified to be the determinant of household food security status in the sampled region. The study therefore recommends that government promotes agricultural education and provide support especially to low income households in the study area, which will in turn encourage households to participate in food gardening/farming activities as a source of generating extra income given that household income was identified to be the most significant determinant of urban food security.