A Comparative Analysis of Household Food Insecurity Status among Rice Farmers in Savanna and the Rainforest Agro-ecological Zones in Southwest States, Nigeria

The study presents findings on comparative analysis of household food insecurity status among rice farmers in the Savanna and the Rainforest agro-ecological zones in Southwest States, Nigeria. Primary data were used and obtained through the administration of a well structured questionnaire. A multistage random sampling was used to select 577 rice farmers in the study area. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, household food insecurity access (HFIA) scale, household food insecurity access prevalence (HFIAP) scale, likert scale and linear regression model. The results revealed that majority of the rice farmer’s fall within 31-50 years of age bracket, with household size of 5-8 persons, married, with farming experiences and have small farm size. The findings from average household food insecurity access scale scores in the Savanna and the Rainforest agro-ecological zones were 4.0 (mildly food insecure) and 5.2 (moderately food insecure) respectively. The results of HFIAP indicator revealed that about 39.1% and 33.5% of respondents were classified as food secure, 8% and 13.9% were mildly food insecure, 15.1% and 22.2% were moderately food insecure and 37.8% and 30.4% were severely food insecure in the Savanna and the Rainforest agro-ecological zones respectively. The major coping strategies adopted by the respondents against food insecurity include reduce the quantity of food consumed and eating but not satisfied. The linear regression model revealed that age, sex, years in school, farm size, household size, farming experience, rice farming experience and tenure system significantly affect household’s food insecurity status. To transport from food insecure to food secure, age, sex, years in school, farm size, household size, farming experience, rice farming experience and tenure system alleviation policies are imperative.