Factors Associated with Household Food Security in Zambia

Miroslava Bavorová,William Nkomoki,Jan Banout

doi:10.3390/su11092715

Miroslava Bavorová, William Nkomoki + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su11092715

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Journal: Sustainability	Publication Date: May 13, 2019
Citations: 39	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Abstract

Food security is a global challenge and threatens mainly smallholder farmers in developing countries. The main aim of this paper is to determine factors that are associated with food security in Zambia. This study utilizes the household questionnaire survey dataset of 400 smallholder farmers in four districts conducted in southern Zambia in 2016. To measure food security, the study employs two food security indicators, namely the food consumption score (FCS) and the household hunger scale (HHS). Two ordered probit models are estimated with the dependent variables FCS and HHS. Both the FCS and HHS models’ findings reveal that higher education levels of household head, increasing livestock income, secure land tenure, increasing land size, and group membership increase the probability of household food and nutrition security. The results imply that policies supporting livestock development programs such as training of farmers in animal husbandry, as well as policies increasing land tenure security and empowerment of farmers groups, have the potential to enhance household food and nutrition security.

Highlights

Food insecurity and undernourishment are on the rise worldwide, from an estimated 777 million people in 2015 to 815 million people in 2016 [1]
A study that Chirwa [29] conducted in Malawi focused on land tenure systems and food production, and the results indicated that households that benefited from land reform programs to strengthen their land tenure security from customary land reported high maize production and an increase in food security when compared to non-beneficiaries in customary land
Regarding land tenure as a determinant of food consumption score (FCS) (Table 2), the findings indicated that the households with customary land tenure were 12.9% more likely to be in the poor FCS category, while 6% were less likely to be in the borderline FCS category, and 12.9% were less likely to be in the acceptable FCS category than households with statutory land tenure

Summary

Introduction

Food insecurity and undernourishment are on the rise worldwide, from an estimated 777 million people in 2015 to 815 million people in 2016 [1]. This increase is a global concern in achieving the second sustainable development goal, which calls for a commitment to end hunger, reduce food insecurity, and improve nutrition by 2030 [1]. The majority of food-insecure populations reside in Africa, which is home to the largest number of the poorest and most poverty-stricken countries in the world [2]. The smallholder farmers are adversely affected by food insecurity

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