The effect of the food insecurities in farming and non-farming households: lesson learnt from households in the Francis Baard district municipality, Northern Cape Province of South Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of food insecurity in farming and non-farming households in the Francis Baard District Municipality. The research approach used in this study was quantitative. By using a cross-sectional survey, data was collected referring to the population of interest. A simple random sample comprising of 516 respondents from farming and non-farming households in the Frances Baard Municipality was selected. The data were analysed using multiple logistic regression (MLR) models. The results revealed that food shortages are more likely (B = 0.22, p = 0.01) to cause severe food insecurities in farming households when access to food gardens and smallholding is constant. On the other hand, non-farming households could also be affected by severe food insecurity due to food shortages (B = 0.29, p = 0.04) and lack of access to smallholding farming areas. The results further showed that food gardening is highly likely to reduce severe food insecurity. The results imply that the municipality has to provide access to food gardening facilities and smallholder plots for non-farming and farming households to combat severe food insecurity and promote food security. The policy on comprehensive producer support only recognises the support for the farmers' different categories than the households. Therefore, it is recommended that the policymakers amend this policy to enable the household to be empowered as beneficiaries.