Understanding the drivers of food security among agriculture-based households in Gurué District, Central Mozambique

Abstract

Background The prevalence of food insecurity in Mozambique is alarming, despite progress made during the 2010s. Several studies apply different proxy indicators of food security (FS) to assess the FS situation. However, these studies overlook the factors affecting FS, using only a single data point that results in an incomplete picture of FS. Food security is expected to fluctuate, being better and worse than what studies suggest. Using a sample of 296 households to assess FS, key drivers conditioning households’ capacity to achieve FS in Gurué District, Central Mozambique, are identified. Data were collected in the pre-harvest period and during the harvest period to capture relevant interseasonal variation of FS. Household FS is assessed using three standard indicators: Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS), Household Food Consumption Score (HFCS), and Months of Adequate Household Food Provisioning (MAHFP). Results Each household was classified into a specific FS status depending on the indicator applied. Generally, most households were classified as being severely or moderately food insecure during the pre-harvest season, while during the harvest season, medium and high levels of FS predominated. Nevertheless, varying outcomes were found depending on the indicator used to assess FS. MAHFP and HDDS are more related to the consumption of farm-sourced food, while HFCS responds more strongly to purchased food. Gender and age of the household head, geographic location, size and quality of land, staples production (especially cassava), livestock and crop diversity, as well as cash crops had a statistically significant effect on FS indicators. Conclusions The study concludes that the decision whether farmers should rely on staple foods production for increasing their FS status or specialize on cash crops production to generate income and buy food depends on the indicator used to assess FS, since each indicator captures a specific domain of food security. Thus, one central recommendation derived from our results is that policy makers should promote a balance between market-oriented agriculture and subsistence production to achieve FS.

Diabetes and Hypertension Are Associated with Food Insecurity in a Cameroonian Population: A Case-Control Study

“…The concept of food security is complex and the result of many interdependent factors. It is now recognized that the use of a single indicator gives an incomplete picture of food security [29] and that multiple indicators should be used to capture the complexity of food security [30]. Two indicators were therefore used 1) the food consumption score and 2) the individual dietary diversity score.…”

Labour migration and food security in rural Mozambique: Do agricultural investment, asset building and local employment matter?

“…(World Bank, 2022b). The country suffers from persistent food insecurity (Mabiso et al, 2014;Matavel et al, 2022) with some households, particularly in arid and semi-arid areas, including parts of southern Mozambique, often forced to reduce amounts and number of daily meals due to lack of income and depletion of food stocks (FEWS NET Mozambique, 2020).…”

“…Mozambique ranks near the bottom of the United Nations' Human Development Index (United Nations Development Programme [UNDP], 2022) with a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of 480 USD (World Bank, 2022b). The country suffers from persistent food insecurity (Mabiso et al, 2014; Matavel et al, 2022) with some households, particularly in arid and semi‐arid areas, including parts of southern Mozambique, often forced to reduce amounts and number of daily meals due to lack of income and depletion of food stocks (FEWS NET Mozambique, 2020).…”

Assessing food security among young farmers in Africa: evidence from Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda

“…This is because the root causes of food insecurity are multidimensional and difficult to understand, particularly in Africa (Kansiime et al 2021 ), thereby raising the need to understand the depth and determinants of food (in)security across different ages and population categories (Wieck et al 2014 ). According to Matavel et al ( 2022 ), a critical aspect of strategies to achieve food security is the identification of food-insecure individuals or households and the characterization of the nature of their insecurity through measurements which will in turn provide a basis for monitoring the progress and impact of food security efforts. The current study aims to fill this research gap by assessing the food security status and identifying factors affecting food security among young African farmers.…”