Determinants of food security in Nigeria: Empirical evidence from beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries rice farmers of the Kano River Irrigation Project

Abstract

IntroductionWhile the prevalence of hunger decreased globally, it has risen in sub-Saharan Africa in recent years mainly due to rapid population growth, low agricultural productivity, and economic downturns. This study was conducted to examine food security determinants at the household levels among the beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries rice farmers of the Kano river irrigation project in Nigeria.MethodsCross-sectional data were used for the analysis while multi-stage sampling technique was used to obtain data from 382 respondents, out of which 217 were project beneficiaries and 165 non-beneficiaries; using a semi-structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Household food security index and Logit regression model.Results and discussionThe results showed that 72.6% of the beneficiaries' households were food secure, against the non-beneficiaries, who had 65.4% food secure households. The findings also revealed that the beneficiaries have 11 and 4% food insecurity depth and severity respectively. Non-beneficiaries, on the other hand, had 17 and 8% food insecurity depth and severity, respectively. Extension contact, farm size, rice output, and educational attainment were the positive determinants of food security. Similarly, determinants that could increase food insecurity identified were; credit constraints and household size. It is recommended that the design of a food security strategy should be multi-dimensional and should encompass social, institutional and economic transformation of small scale farmers. Addressing the identified determinants is also crucial for enhancing the food security status in the study area.

Magnitude and determinants of food insecurity among pregnant women in Nigeria: evidence from a nationwide cross-sectional survey

“…However, in the North-Central region, food insecurity is related to the persisting farmersherdsmen con ict, decreasing agricultural land-holding size and family farming in the region whose mainstay occupation is farming [47]. Declining family farming and farming experience reduce the chances of food insecurity [51]. On the other hand, marital status and education in uence food insecurity in the Southeast region.…”

Fulani Herdsmen Counter-productive Activities and Food Insecurity among Food Crop Farmers: Evidence from Ekiti and Ondo States, Nigeria

“…Therefore, following Azeem (2016) and Ojo et al (2024) [25] , this value defines the food security benchmark as households who consumed fewer calories than this benchmark were classified as food insecure households while the households whose calorie consumption was equal to or more than it was classified as food secure households. Thus, following Wudil et al (2023) [26] ; and Obi-Egbedi et al (2023) [5] , a household's food security status was determined according to the following expression:…”

Food insecurity status of rural microfinance households in Ekiti State, Nigeria

“…Against this background, this study examined the food security profile of rural microfinance households in Ekiti-state, Nigeria. Several studies have been conducted on food security/insecurity (Salau, 2020;Akukwe, 2020;Leisner, 2020;Oluwatayo et al, 2021;Erokhin and Gao, 2020;Fikire and Zegeye, 2022;Wudil et al, 2023); however, none of these studies examined the relationship between microfinance households' food security status and the peculiarity of the microcredit they accessed. Therefore, this study was carried out to bridge this literature gap by providing relevant information in this regard.…”