Occupational dimension of food security: A rural household level assessment in Kogi State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study empirically assessed the occupational dimension of food security among rural households in Kogi State, Nigeria. The study adopted a multi-stage random sampling technique to select one hundred and forty-four (144) rural households for data collection. Primary data obtained from the respondents were analyzed using descriptive statistics, food security index (FSI), and a binary logit regression model. The results revealed a mean age of 43 years among the rural household heads. Married households accounted for 79.29% of the sample size with a mean household size of 4 members. The level of illiteracy was relatively low. The mean monthly income among the households was N71,796.43 (($154.40)). The majority (91.30%) of the farmers were food secure while only 8.70% were food insecure. The incidence of food insecurity was higher (77.8%) among the artisans, followed by household heads in other occupations, traders, and civil servants with an incidence rate of 58.3%, 54.8%, and 51.5%, respectively. It was also found that sex (p<0.01) and farming as a major occupation of household head (p<0.01) had a positive impact on rural household food security, while age (p<0.01) had a negative impact on household food security. It was recommended that relevant stakeholders should encourage rural households to practice agricultural production and farmers should be supported by the government and other relevant actors to expand their scale of production as this will have a multiplier effect on rural households’ food security.