Identifying the Drivers of Food Security Based on Perception among Households in South Western Nigeria

Abstract

Food insecurity has been considered lately as one of the developmental challenges facing developing nations particularly the sub-Saharan Africa that if not curtailed may have embarrassing consequences not only to the affected area but to humanity in general due to instability that may occur. This study aimed to identify those factors that influence food security and how they did to guide the relevant stakeholders in the design and implementation of food programmes. The study assessed food security of the households based on perception of heads/appointed representatives and logistic regression model to identify its drivers in respective households. The findings of the study revealed that majority of households investigated (60.2 percent) showed varying degrees of food insecurity and hunger while those living with moderate hunger were leading by 31.6 percent. Furthermore, logistic regression analysis results showed that eight of the ten explanatory variables such as income, access to credit and public health facilities among others as specified in the model significantly influenced the food security of the sampled households.