Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the food security status of 150 households in Osun state of Nigeria. The study area was chosen because relatively little energy consumption data are available concerning this geographical location. Design/methodology/approach – The study used both primary and secondary data. The suitable households sample was chosen by multi-stage random sampling technique. The methodology employed to group the households into either food secure or food insecure is by comparing daily per capita calorie consumption by each household with the threshold daily per capita calorie requirement of 2,710 kcal/day/adult equivalent. This method has proven to be efficient in measuring food security at household level. Findings – The results of the study reveal that majority of the households surveyed are food insecure that is their daily per capita calorie intake falls below the recommended daily per capita calorie requirement. The food insecure households constitute 54 per cent, surplus index of 0.36 per cent and food insecurity gap of 0.0038. Research limitations/implications – The greatest limitation to this study is the inability to collect data on the distribution of income, budget share on foods and socio-economic characteristics of the households to determine how their food security status is influenced due to impediments such as time, limited resources to collect a complete dataset used for the study. Also, recalling accurately the foods eaten in the last 24-hour was difficult for some of the household heads especially the aged ones and precise measurement of foods portion were also not accurate in some cases. Practical implications – The findings of the study will help the stakeholders in food sector in policy formulations and also serve as reference for other researchers who will work on similar topic. Social implications – The revelation that majority of the households are lacking in calorie intake will provide guidance for stakeholders in food sector to put in place efforts that will improve balance between food production and accessibility. Originality/value – The study used original data collected directly from the households for the study using structured questionnaires and the reference materials from secondary sources are appropriately cited. Also, it is worthy to note that not many studies have been carried out in the study area on food security especially in the rural areas.

This study investigated those factors which influenced the adoption of Moringa olefera as water purifier by the farmers in Kaduna state. Data were collected with the aid of structured questionnaire from 30 respondents. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logit regression model. The results showed that the respondents had one form of education or the other. About 90 percent were married average household size of 10 persons per household. About 73 percent adopted Moringa oleifera water purification. Socio-economic factors influencing adoption of Moringa oleifera water purification were age, education, extension contact and membership of cooperative. The study therefore recommends that farmers should form themselves into association because such association will aid in collective soliciting for government assistance, NGOs and other funding agencies. Also, more awareness should be created by the extension agents on the importance of Moringa oleifera seed powder in rural development.