Food insecurity transitions among rural households in Nigeria

Abstract

Food insecurity dynamics of rural households in Nigeria was assessed using a panel data. Results showed that 44.4% of households that were food secure in the first panel transited into food insecurity in the second panel, while 32.5% that were mildly food insecure transited into food security. Furthermore, 25.7% transited from moderate food insecurity to food security, while 38.2% transited from severe food insecurity to food security. About 35.1% of households were never food insecure; 11.4% exited food insecurity 28.0% entered food insecurity; while 25.48% remained always food insecure. Having primary education, secondary education, dependency ratio, household size, share of non-food expenditure and farm size explained food insecurity transition. However, the likelihood of a household being always food insecure was explained by gender, female-to-male-adult ratio, marital status, primary education, secondary education, dependency ratio, share of non-food expenditure, farm size, access to credit and access to remittance.

The Household Food Security and Feeding Pattern of Preschool Children in North-Central Nigeria

“…There is also variation in the prevalence of food security among urban and rural dwellers as opined by Akanbiemu et al [ 43 ]. This corroborates the fact that the prevalence of food insecurity in the country varies across the geopolitical zones and places of residence and therefore is higher in the northern region than in the southern region and also among rural areas than urban areas [ 19 , 21 ]. Most of the mothers of the preschool children admitted that they had experienced food insecurity or worry of not having food to eat due to lack of money and food deficits, and some said their households ate nothing some days due to lack of income to acquire food ( Table 3 ), which is similar to the report by Yahaya et al [ 47 ] where 24.8% and 7.8% were food insecure with moderate-to-severe hunger, respectively.…”

“…In a similar study conducted by Balistreri [ 65 ] and Ware et al [ 55 ], parity and family size were significantly associated with children’s food security status. Other factors reported to significantly affect the adequacy of under-five children’s dietary intake in both quality and quantity among Nigerians as reported by Akanbiemu et al [ 3 , 43 ], Fadare et al [ 38 ], Owoo [ 21 , 27 ], Obayelu and Akpan [ 19 ], Yahaya et al [ 47 ], and Omotayo et al [ 14 ] were household socioeconomic status, maternal/caregiver food literacy, geopolitical location, family structure and high dependency ratio, seasonality, conflicts, affordability due to hike in food prices, poor policy, and bad governance.…”

“…The inadequate intake of healthy food among under-five children in Nigeria is complex and multifactorial, ranging from poor dietary diversity among households, poor wealth index, food illiteracy, high dependency ratio, conflicts, seasonality, and geographical location, among others [ 14 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Consequently, inadequately fed children, especially preschoolers, may not develop to their full potential both physically and mentally before starting formal education, thus impairing school attendance and intelligence quotients for good academic performance, and eventually leading to poor labor productivity and a reduction in the economic growth of the nation [ 4 , 11 , 22 , 23 , 24 ].…”

“…Moreover, the global economic downturn has affected several countries, and its impact on low-and middle- income countries (LMICs) like Nigeria is evident in the increased poverty rate among the population [ 14 , 19 , 34 ]. Generally, low incomes, rising food prices, poor policies and governance, growing demand, and changes in consumption patterns not commensurate with production and distribution have implications for households’ food security status [ 14 , 25 , 35 , 36 ].…”

“…Poverty reduces the affordability of safe and nutritious healthy foods across the different socioeconomic classes, although this impact varies from region to region. Poverty and poor dietary intake are higher in the northern region than in the southern region because of the incessant Boko Haram attacks in the northern region [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 37 ].…”