IMPACT OF CEREALS CONSUMPTION ON HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY IN NIGERIA
Abstract
ThestudyexploredtheimpactofcerealconsumptiononhouseholdfoodsecurityinNigeria,focusingonvarioussocio-economicdimensions.Keyobjectivesincludeanalyzingthecurrentstateoffoodsecurity,assessingtheroleofcerealsindietaryintake,identifyingbarrierstofoodsecurity,andunderstandingfactorsinfluencingcerealconsumption.Secondarydata(HouseholdSurvey2018–2019)obtainedfromtheNigeriaBureauofStatistics(NBS)wasusedtoanalysethesetobjectives.Asampleof4,135householdswereusedforthestudy.Bothdescriptiveandinferentialstatistics(LogitRegressionmodel)wereusedtoanalysedthedatasets.
Findingsfromthestudyrevealedanotablegenderimbalance,with73.86%ofrespondentsidentifyingasmaleand26.14%asfemale.Thepredominantagegroupis51–60years,representing43.19%ofthesample(1,786individuals).Alarmingly,49.00%ofrespondentslackformaleducation,indicatingsignificanteducationaldisparities.Homeownershipisprevalent,with80.44%ofrespondentsowningtheirhomes.Additionally,65.88%areinmonogamousmarriages,while20.46%areinpolygamousunions.Thehouseholdcompositionshowsthat71.15%ofrespondentsbelongtofamilieswith6to10members.Importantly,55.84%ofhouseholds’reportexperiencingfoodscarcity,and38.48%haveresortedtoreducingmealsizes,practicesthatthreatennutritionalqualityandunderminecerealconsumption,bothcriticalforfoodsecurity.Theresultfurthershowedthatthecoefficientage(p=0.042),householdsize(p=0.000),livestockownership(p=0.001),maizeconsumption(p=0.050),milletconsumption(p=0.001),riceconsumption(p=0.021),sugarcaneconsumption(p=0.002)andborrowingoffood(p=0.004)weresignificantdeterminantsoffoodsecurityinthestudyarea.
ThestudyconcludesthatcerealsconsumptionhasasignificantimpactonthelevelofhouseholdfoodsecurityinNigeria.Itrecommendstheimplementationofpoliciesaimedatenhancingcerealsproduction,improvingmarketaccess,andpromotingeducationregardingthenutritionalbenefitsofcereals.Additionally,thestudyadvocatesforinterventionsdesignedtosupportlow-incomehouseholdsandaddressbarrierstocerealaccessibility.
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