Impact of off-farm income on food security and nutrition in Nigeria

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Abstract: While the poverty implications of off-farm income have been analyzed in different developing countries, much less is known about the impact of off-farm income on household food security and nutrition. Here, this research gap is addressed by using farm survey data from Nigeria. Econometric analyses are employed to examine the mechanisms through which off-farm income affects household calorie and micronutrient supply, dietary quality, and child anthropometry. We find that off-farm income has a positive net effect on food security and nutrition. The prevalence of child stunting, underweight, and wasting is lower in households with off-farm income than in households without. Using a structural model, we also show that offfarm income contributes to higher food production and farm income by easing capital constraints, thus improving household welfare in multiple ways. Terms of use: Documents inKeywords: Farm households; food security; micronutrients; child anthropometry; off-farm income 1 Impact of off-farm income on food security and nutrition in Nigeria AbstractWhile the poverty implications of off-farm income have been analyzed in different developing countries, much less is known about the impact of off-farm income on household food security and nutrition. Here, this research gap is addressed by using farm survey data from Nigeria.Econometric analyses are employed to examine the mechanisms through which off-farm income affects household calorie and micronutrient supply, dietary quality, and child anthropometry. We find that off-farm income has a positive net effect on food security and nutrition. The prevalence of child stunting, underweight, and wasting is lower in households with off-farm income than in households without. Using a structural model, we also show that off-farm income contributes to higher food production and farm income by easing capital constraints, thus improving household welfare in multiple ways.

Global value chains, large-scale farming, and poverty: Long-term effects in Senegal

“…This is consistent with the idea in the broader development literature that labour market development and off-farm employment is important for rural development (Barrett et al, 2001;Haggblade et al, 2010;Lanjouw and Lanjouw, 2001). Empirical studies from various countries have shown that off-farm income in general, and wages in particular, increase rural incomes (Cramer et al, 2008;Oya, 2013;Rizzo et al, 2015); and that non-farm work has a positive effect on nutrition and food security (Babatunde and Qaim, 2010;Owusu et al, 2011). Our study adds to this evidence but also contradicts it to some extent.…”

Climate change, food security, and livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa

“…In fact, some define food security as the success of local livelihoods in guaranteeing access to sufficient food at the household level (Devereux and Maxwell 2001). The focus of household-level food security research is to study the strategies used by people to achieve food security, whether it be migration (Karamba et al 2011), income diversification (Babatunde and Qaim 2010), or the use of technology (Burney and Naylor 2012), for example. Food security can be seen as one dimension of a broader livelihood strategy (Maxwell and Smith 1992).…”

Impact of tissue culture banana technology on farm household income and food security in Kenya

“…This is partly related to complexities in terms of measuring food insecurity (Barrett, 2010;Webb et al, 2006). The most common measurement approaches at the micro level build on dietary recalls, anthropometric indicators, or health data, which have also been used for impact assessment in a few studies (Babatunde and Qaim, 2010;Ecker and Qaim, 2010;Haddad et al, 1998;Rusike et al, 2010). There are also studies that try to measure food insecurity through data on household coping strategies (Maxwell et al, 1999;Maxwell et al, 2008).…”