Contextualising the Pillars of Household Food Security: Evidence from Iringa District, Tanzania

Abstract

This paper contextualises the pillars of food security based on the perceptions of local communities in Iringa district, Tanzania. The pillars are food availability, food accessibility, food affordability, food adequacy, food acceptability and food stability. The study involved 376 participants. Structured interviews, field observation, focused group discussions, indepth interviews and documentary review were the methods used for data collection. Findings reveal that many households (76.2%) in Iringa were facing food shortage. The findings show that food insecurity in the district was exacerbated by the lack of steadiness in the six pillars of household food security. Given its semi-arid climatic conditions, the study concluded that the instability of these pillars push many households in the district into food insecurity and loss of income. This leads to the recommendations that efforts by the government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the private sector to alleviate recurrent food shortages in the district should focus on helping households address the sustainably of each of the pillars of food security.