SOCIOECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF HOUSEHOLD VULNERABILITY TO FOOD SECURITY IN SEMI-ARID REGION OF NIGERIA

Abstract

This study was conducted to examine the effect of socio-economic variables on household vulnerability to food security in the semi-arid drylands of Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select respondents. Three states and three local government areas from each state were purposively selected in the first and second stages. Communities from each local government area, from which respondent households were identified were randomly selected in the third and fourth stages respectively. Descriptive statistics and multi-category response variable regression analysis was used to organise and process the data gathered. The study revealed that the estimated coefficients on household size are positive and statistically significant at 1 percent level for all the pillars of food security in the study area. This implies that increase in household size by one member is associated with increase in the log odds of food security, by 0.0353 for food availability, 0.0477 for food accessibility, 0.0253 for food utilization, and 0.0397 for food stability. The joint test of significance of the parameter estimates for all the models of food security shows that all the regressors are jointly statistically significant at influencing food security in the sample states. Hence, the hypothesis that the effects of socio-economic characteristics of households on food security based on age, sex, marital status, educational level and household size are jointly equal to 0 can be rejected at the 1 percent level. The research concludes that given these findings with the current high fertilizer and fuel prices, the chances of serial vulnerability to food insecurity is imminent. The study therefore recommends the promotion of strategic, culture-friendly, and effective family regulation programme to address the monster of unsustainable household sizes that easily plunge families into poverty and food insecurity, and systematic use of social safety net.