Women’s Empowerment: Mediating the Link between Food Security and Household Poverty in Cameroon

Abstract

Abstract Women’s empowerment, zero hunger and no poverty are sustainable development goals which are universally set to achieve a more and better viable future for all by 2030. The study investigated the mediating effect of women’s empowerment on the link between food security and poverty reduction in Cameroon using data from the fourth round of Cameroon’s Household Consumption Survey. Using the two stage least square instrumental variable model, the study ascertains the existence of partial mediation from where it is concluded that about 16.6% of the effect of food security on household poverty is transmitted directly and about 4.9% indirectly through women’s empowerment, which are all significant at 1% significant level. The study therefore recommends that social amenities, training institutions and job opportunities should be provided and heightened in the rural areas to give it the status and advantages found in the urban areas. This will go a long way to empower rural women leading to enhanced food security and poverty reduction. Furthermore, measures aimed at reducing birth rate be encouraged in Cameroon to reduce population size given its negative effect on household poverty when women’s empowerment mediates the link between food security and household poverty.