Factors influencing household food security among MicroVeg project beneficiaries in Nigeria

Abstract

To achieve the first two most important of the seventeen sustainable development goals vision 2030 (No Poverty and Zero Hunger), implementing development projects of intervention is inevitable. This study examined factors influencing household food security amongst MicroVeg project beneficiaries in Nigeria. Cluster sampling method was used to select four of the seven project host States in Nigeria. A total of 120 farmers were randomly sampled across the project sites in the four selected states. Relevant data were obtained on socioeconomic characteristics and food security variables while same were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results showed that 71.1% of the sampled respondents were males and 87.5% were married. Mean age was found as 49 years, 25.8, 33.3 and 27.5% had primary, secondary and post-secondary education respectively while 80.0% had farming as their primary occupation. The means of household size, farm size and annual farm income were found as 7 persons, 13,945.1 m(2) and ₦208,375 respectively. Almost half (48.3%) of the sampled respondents leased land for vegetable farming while 37.5% inherited their farmland. Personal interest, short production cycle and regularity of income were ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd among others, as the reasons why respondents grow indigenous vegetables. About (54.2%) of the sampled respondents were food secured. Household composition, more specifically the ratio of male members in the active working age bracket (r=0.192; p≤0.05) was found to influence household food security among respondents. During periods of food shortage, modification of cooking methods, borrowing money to buy food/getting food on credit and substituting commonly bought food items with cheaper ones ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively as the coping strategies engaged by respondents. Thus, continuous efforts should be made towards building the capacity of the project beneficiaries thereby enabling many more of them achieve household food security on sustainable basis.