SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL ANALYSES OF FOOD SECURITY AMONG SELECTED ETHNIC GROUPS IN NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

The  broad  objective  of  the  study  was  to  investigate  the  socio-economic  and cultural  dimensions  of  food  security  among  selected  ethnic  groups  in  North  Central Nigeria. Specifically, the study was designed to: determine food culture and practices of the respondents; determine the household food security status (energy availability) across ethnic  groups;  determine  dietary  diversity  of  the  households  across  cultures;  identify perceived constraints militating against household food security; and describe the coping strategies  utilized  by the  households  during  food  shortages.  Seven  hypotheses  and  a conceptual framework were developed for the study. The population of the study consists of all ethnic groups in North Central Nigeria. The zone comprises about 60 ethnic groups. Specifically,  the study was  carried out among Tiv, Igala and Eggon ethnic groups of Benue, Kogi and Nasarawa States. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted for the study. Three ethnic groups (Tiv, Igala and Eggon) and one village per ethnic group were purposively selected based on differences in language and culture. The total sample size for this study was 340 respondents, made up of 120 Tiv households, 108 Igala households and 112 Eggon households. Data for the study were collected through the use of interview schedule. The data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean score, food security index,  factor  analysis;  the  comparative  (reduced)  coping  strategy  index  (CSI),  logit regression, Kruskal-Wallis (H) statistic and correlation. The study revealed that majority (91.2%) of the respondents were males. The mean age of the respondents was 43.36 years while their mean household size was 5 members. The mean farm size of the respondents was 3.3 hectares while their  average fertilizer use was 4.73kg/ha per annum. Majority (53.2%) had no formal  education; majority (89.4%) had no access to credit and about 53.2% did not participate in non-farm activities. The average output from own production was 6211.79kg and majority (60%) of the respondents possessed goats. The mean farm income;   mean   non-farm   income   and  average   annual   household   income   for   the respondents  were  69,539.00  naira;  22,486.00  naira  and  91,752.00 naira,  respectively. Majority  (93.2%)  of husbands  took  decisions  on  household  agricultural  activities;  all respondents   practiced   subsistence   farming;   and  94.7%  practiced   mixed   cropping. Majority  (88.6%)  of  the  respondents  preferred  major  crops;  about  92.5%  acquired farmland  through  inheritance;  and  the family  (67. %) constituted  the main  source  of labour.  Majority  of  the  respondents  used  traditional  processing  (97.4%)  and  storage (96.2%)  methods.  Majority  (95.4%)  of  husbands  controlled  household  income  and majority (77.9%) of husbands as well had preference in household food sharing. About 67.5%, 41.7% and 44.6% in Anter, Ikem and Randa, respectively were food secure. In all, slightly above half (51.8%) of the households were food secure. Root and tuber  crops (86.2%) constituted  the food group most consumed  by households.  Consequently,  the population had a low quality diet. The major constraints to food security in the study area included  economic  constraints,  institutional  constraints,  poor  governance  and  lack  of access to appropriate technologies. The most popular strategies utilized during food stress were  relying  on less  preferred  food  (93.8%)  and  limiting  portion  size  at meal  times (83.5%).  The regression  analysis  showed  that some household  socio-economic  factors [household size (AE) (t= -7.64; p ≤ 0.05), output from own production (t=2.89; p ≤ 0.05), farm income  (t=2.78;  p ≤  0.05)  and annual  income  (t= 2.21; p ≤ 0.05)] significantly influenced  household  food security status. Regression  analysis  also showed  that some food  culture  and  practices  [control  over  household  income  (-1.056;  p  ≤  0.05)  and preference  over  household  food  sharing  (0.834;  p  ≤  0.05)]  significantly  influenced household food security status. Kruskal-Wallis  (H) analysis indicated that there was no significant  (x2  statistic=5.9915;  p ≤ 0.05) difference  in household  food security  status among the ethnic groups studied. Correlation analysis showed that there was a significant (r = – 0.71; p ≤ 0.05) relationship between food security and coping strategy index. Also, some household socio-economic factors such as household size (AE) (r=0.611; p ≤ 0.05); age (r=0.222; p ≤ 0.05) and annual household income (r= -0.197; p ≤ 0.05) had significant relationship with coping strategy index. The study recommended that to improve the food security situation in North Central Nigeria, multiple cropping found to be dominant in the region should be encouraged.  Research and extension should focus on developing and promoting appropriate technologies, including use of inputs that can raise productivity in mixed  cropping  system.  Also,  governments  should  support  appropriate  food  storage, processing and preservation techniques at the household and village levels to ensure food availability throughout the year. In addition, households should be assisted to diversify their income sources and enhance their purchasing power so as to meet their minimum food  requirement.  Furthermore,  extension  institutions  in  the  region  should  organize nutrition education programmes aimed at encouraging farmers to produce and consume varieties of foods for improved nutrition and food security.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      Background information

Food security is the condition  in which all people, at all times, have  physical, social,  and economic  access  to sufficient,  safe and nutritious  food which  meets  their dietary needs and food preferences for  an active and healthy life (FAO, 2002). It is also defined as access by all people at all times to enough food for an active and healthy life (World  Bank,  1986).  Food  security  depends  on  availability  of  food,  access  to food, utilization of food or nutritional factors and stability of food supply (Gross, Schultink and Kliemmann, 1999; FAO, 2008a). These dimensions are in turn dependent on agricultural production, food imports and donations, employment opportunities and income earnings, intra-household  decision-making  and  resource  allocation,  health  care  utilization  and caring practices (Maxwell and Frankenberger, 1992) combined with the broader factors of physical, policy and social environment (Hoddinott, 2001). Food insecurity on the other hand connotes a situation in which people lack basic food intake to provide them with the energy and nutrients for fully productive lives.

Concerns  over  the  food  security  situation  in  the  world  are  reflected  in  the Millennium  Development  Goal  (MDG)  of  eradicating  extreme  poverty  and  hunger, including reducing by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger between 1990 and 2015. In 2010, an estimated 925 million people in the world were hungry, of which 907 million or 98 percent were in developing countries. This situation has been attributed to neglect of agriculture relevant to very poor people by governments and international agencies;  the current  worldwide  economic  crisis  and  the  significant  increase  of food prices  (FAO,  2010);  World  Hunger  Education  Service  (WHES),  2011).  Hunger  is exacerbated by poverty as about 1.4 billion people in developing countries live on $1.25 a day or less (International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), 2011).

The prevalence of undernutrition  in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) declined slightly from 31 percent between 1990 and 1992 to 29 percent in 2000/2002 and decreased again to 27 percent between 2006 and 2008 (FAO, 2011a). Even with the decline, about 239 million people in SSA continue to face chronic hunger (WHES, 2011) largely because of high level of poverty resulting from overdependence on subsistence agriculture, limited access to off-farm employment, sluggish development in urban areas and skewed income distribution  (FAO,  2006).  As  a  result,  more   than  one  in  every  four  Africans  is undernourished, and the inability to consistently acquire enough calories and nutrients for a  healthy  and  productive  life  is  pervasive  (United  Nations  Development  Programme (UNDP),  (2012).  This  is  in  spite  of  ample  agricultural  land,  plenty  of  water  and  a generally favourable climate for growing food.

The food security situation in Nigeria has slightly improved, though the progress is slow. The monitoring report on progress towards hunger reduction targets of the World Food Summit (WFS) and the Nigeria Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicated that there was slight increase in per capita daily calorie intake of  Nigerians from 2310 kcal between 1990 and1992 to 2560 kcal in 2000/2002 and it increased again to 2710 kcal between 2006 and 2008. Similarly, the number of undernourished people decreased from 16.3 million people between 1990 and 1992 to 11.9 million in 2000/2002  and  further declined to 9.4 million people between 2006 and 2008 (FAO, 2011a). Furthermore, the report on Nigeria MDGs by the Federal Government of Nigeria (2010) indicated that the proportion of underweight children reduced from 35.7 percent in 1990 to 23.1 percent in 2008, which is less than the regional average of 28 percent for SSA countries (UNCTAD, 2010).

Despite the improved  statistics,  Nigeria faces a challenge  in meeting the  basic food needs of its population. The possible reason for the persistent food security problems in  Nigeria,  despite  huge  earnings  from  oil,  is  the  neglect  of  the  agricultural  sector, following the discovery of oil in commercial quantity (Akpan, 2009). More than half of all employment in Nigeria depends on agriculture, but 90 percent of the produce comes from small rain-fed farms of a few hectares, constrained by poor infrastructure and little access  to  credit.  Many  of  these  farms  are  unable  to  meet  their  own  subsistence requirements, exposing families to  volatile prices in the market. Moreover, the Nigeria population has been on the  increase from 88.9 million people in 1991 to 168 million people in 2011 (National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), 2012), leading to a high dependency ratio and pressure on resources.

Agricultural growth rate has been on the decline since 2007. Food growth rate was 7.2 percent in 2007, decreased sharply to 6.3 percent in 2008, declined slightly to 5.9 in 2009 and further declined to 5.7 percent in 2010. However, the population increase within the same period (2007-2010) was constant at 3.2 percent (Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), 2010).  Although agricultural growth rate for the period (2007-2010) was higher than the population  increases,  this did not translate  into a commensurate  improvement  of food security at the household and national levels.   As a result, household  food  insecurity, under-nutrition   and  micronutrient   deficiencies   are  found  throughout   Nigeria,  with important  differences  based  on agro-ecology,  access  to government  services,  rural  or urban location and socio-economic factors. The type of food security problem in Nigeria is a combination  of widespread  chronic  food  insecurity  resulting  from  continuing  or structural  poverty  and  transitory  (seasonal)  food  insecurity,  which  occurs  in  hungry periods of April to August, particularly in northern region.

In  addition  to  socio-economic  factors  are  cultural  practices  which  contribute directly or indirectly to the food security situation of a given society. Culture is defined as the  way  of  life  of  a  particular  society  and  it  refers  to  the  roles,  uses,  position  and symbolism  of individuals,  ideas and objects  such as food  in all aspects  of a society, including   beliefs,   values,   norms,   taboos,   institutions,   language,   rituals   and   arts (Byaruhanga and Opedum, 2008). The culture of a place is intrinsically linked to the food consumed in the region as culture prescribes the interaction between people and land and between  land  and  food  (Ashish,  Ashish,  Najeeb  and  Sudhir,  2008;  Byaruhanga  and Opedum,  2008).  Cultural  practices  and tradition  impact  on land ownership,  access  to productive resources, the organization of agricultural production and nutrition (Villarreal, 2000).   Furthermore, the specific socio-cultural norms that govern control over income and household food allocation can influence access to food (World Bank, 2009).

North Central Nigeria often referred to as the middle belt, comprises about two- fifths of the country’s land area but supporting less than one-fifth of the total population as  a  greater  part  of  the  region  is  uninhabited   owing  to  poor  soil   and  climate (http://www.britannica.com/EB-checked/topic/414840/Nigeria/214164/Agriculture- forestry-and-fishing). The region is known for its diversity of ethnic groups, including the Ibira, Nupe, Gwari, Eggon, Pyem, Goemai, Kofyar, Jukun, Igala, Idoma and  Tiv  who obtain   their   living   from   agricultural   production.   However,   most   are   small-scale subsistence farmers who produce only a little surplus for sale and who derive additional income from one or more cash crops, livestock and petty trading.  Farms are generally small, usually less than 5 hectares and relying on the use of  manual labour and crude implements such as hoe and matchet. Like other regions of the country, the population is growing  rapidly  and  urbanization  is  accelerating,  leading  to  worsening  food  deficit despite government efforts to rectify the situation.

1.2      Problem statement

The ability of most households in rural Nigeria to generate a sufficient income, which together with own production, can be used to meet food needs is undermined due to poor economic conditions and the systems of agricultural production, distribution and utilization. An estimated 69 percent or 112,470 million people in Nigeria live below the poverty line and both income and human poverty are increasing (NBS, 2012). Using the Human Development Index (HDI) as a measure of the quality of life, Nigeria was ranked 156 out of 187 countries in the low human development category in 2011 (United Nations Development  Programme  (UNDP),  2011).  Similarly,  Nigeria’s  Global  Hunger  Index (GHI) value for 2011 was 15.5 and ranked 18 out of the 81 developing countries with extremely  alarming,  alarming or serious hunger situation  (IFPRI, 2011). These results point to the fact that human vulnerability in the country is set to worsen in future leading to increasing poverty and food insecurity. Poverty and food insecurity within Nigeria are predominantly a rural phenomenon with over 70 percent of the poor and hungry located in the strongly agriculture-based rural areas. Statistics show that the incidence of poverty in Nigeria using the absolute poverty measure increased from 54.7 percent in 2004 to 60.9 percent in 2010.  Nationally,  the food energy poverty incidence was higher among the poor (52 percent) than the non-poor (48 percent). It was also higher among the rural poor (66.1  percent)  than  the non-poor  (33.9  percent).  Disaggregation  by geopolitical  zone indicate that the poor in North East, North West, North Central, South East and South South zones had a higher incidence of food energy poverty than the non-poor. This was however different in South West where the incidence of food energy poverty was higher among the non-poor than the poor (NBS, 2012). Overall, the  food energy poverty was higher in the northern part of the country than in the south.

Poverty has serious effects on food and nutrition security. It contributes to poor agricultural productivity, as many Nigerian farmers cannot afford yield-enhancing inputs (such  as  fertilizer,  pesticides,  and  improved  seeds),  which  would  help  to  increase productivity.  As a result  of low  agricultural  productivity,  farmers  are unable  to earn enough  income  to  purchase  the  food  required  to  live  a  healthy  and  productive  life. However,   agriculture   is  the  principal   source  of   food  and  livelihood   in  Nigeria, contributing over 40 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), and employing about two  thirds  of  the  nation’s  workforce.  Given  the  role  of  agriculture  in  the  Nigerian economy,  poverty and food insecurity  could be attributed  to poor performance  of the agricultural  sector,  which  in  turn  creates  food  supply  and  access  problems  at  the household and national levels.

Nigeria  was  a  major  agricultural  exporter  before  embarking  on  off-shore  oil drilling in the 1960s; but as it developed into the world’s twelfth largest oil producing country  (The  World  Factbook  in  Wikipedia,  2012),  its  farms  and  plantations  were neglected  and  today,  about  90  percent  of  Nigeria’s  agricultural  output  comes  from inefficient  small scale subsistence  farms and most farmers  have  little or no access to modern inputs. Nigeria is a net importer of agricultural goods, particularly rice, wheat and sugar, which the country could potentially produce in large enough quantities to be self- sufficient. For instance, Nigeria occupied the second place among the top 10 global rice importers in 2008/2010 with 1.8 metric  tons (Organization  for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2011). Furthermore, Nigeria’s agricultural imports accounted for over USD3 billion  in  2009  while  agricultural  exports  were about USD1.4  billion.

Analyses of a number of food security crises in Africa, including Nigeria over the past few years have highlighted  the reality that a number of factors, including  socio- economic and cultural factors, play a role in food security (Omonona, Bolarin and Agoi, 2007; Omotesho, Adewumi, Muhammad-Lawal and Ayinde, 2006; Benson, 2006; World Bank,  2009;  Thandi,  Matwa  and  Bradlay,  2006;  Byaruhanga  and  Opedum,  2008; Nganwa,   2009).   The   socio-economic   characteristics   and   resources   of   individual households  have  been  identified  as  factors  influencing  the  food  security  status  of households  (Sen, 1981; Babatunde,  Omotesho  and  Sholotan,  2007). Rural households continue to face poor economic conditions  which  impact on their living standards and food security situation. The returns to land in terms of output have been on the decrease especially where increased  population and non-agricultural  uses compete for land use, creating  gaps  in  resource  availability  among  poor  households  and  leading  to  worse household food security situation coupled with youth dislocation from farms for off-farm activities (Akinsanmi and Droppler, 2005). Similarly, some aspects of cultural practices have  been  identified  as important  factors  influencing  food  security  (Byaruhanga  and Opedum, 2008; Thandi, Matwa and Bradlay, 2006; Onuaroh and  Ayo, 2003; Nganwa, 2009;  Nwajuiba  and  Okechukwu,  2006;  Hagg,  2006).  Culture  impacts  on  food  and nutrition  security  through  the systems  of crop production,  distribution  and  utilization (Villarreal, 2000; Hagg, 2006; Byaruhanga and Opedum, 2008). In addition, ethnicity is related to food security because the environments where people live and their ancestral origins influence food culture and practices with food and food cultures passed on from one   generation   to  another   (Byaruhanga   and   Opedum,   2008).   Furthermore,   rural households consume and prefer the crops that are supported and produced in the specific geographical regions (Ashish et al., 2008). Thus, understanding these processes is critical to the understanding  and devising of  appropriate  interventions  in agriculture  and food security. However, review of recent literature has shown the existence of little work on the link between socio-economic factors, food culture and practices and household food security (energy availability) among ethnic groups in North Central Nigeria. Hence, the need to ascertain the influence of socio-economic and cultural factors on household food security status of selected ethnic groups in North Central Nigeria.

In the light of the foregoing, this study was designed to provide answers to the following questions: How does culture influence household food security? What  is the household food security situation of the selected ethnic groups? How diversified are the diets  of  the  households  of  the  selected  ethnic  groups?  What  factors  militate  against household  food security in the study area? How do rural  households  respond  to food shortages?

1.3      Purpose of the study

The  purpose  of  the  study  was  to  assess  the  socio-economic   and   cultural dimensions of food security among selected ethnic groups in North Central Nigeria. Specifically, the study was designed to:

i.         determine food culture and practices of the respondents;

ii.        determine the household food security status (energy availability) across ethnic groups;

iii.       determine dietary diversity of the households across cultures;

iv.       identify perceived constraints militating against household food security; and

v.        describe the coping strategies utilized by the households during food shortages.

1.4      Hypotheses of the study

The following research hypotheses were tested.

i.       Selected socio-economic factors have no significant influence on ethnic groups’ household food security status (energy availability);

ii.       Selected food culture and practices have no significant influence on ethnic groups’ household food security status (energy availability);

iii.       There is no significant difference in household food security status (energy availability) among the selected ethnic groups;

iv.       There is no significant relationship between household food security and dietary diversity of the rural households;

v.       There is no significant relationship between household food security and coping strategies utilized by households during food shortage;

vi.       There is no significant relationship between household socio-economic factors and dietary diversity score; and

vii.       There is no significant relationship between household socio-economic factors and coping strategy index.

1.5      Significance of the study

Ensuring the basic food needs of her population is one of the major challenges confronting Nigeria. Knowledge of the socio-economic  and cultural factors influencing food security is important in understanding and devising of appropriate interventions in agriculture  and food security. The findings of the study  would bring to fore the food security  situation,  as  a  basis  for  future  policy  formulation  and  project  design  by government and private organizations. It is intended that the findings of this study would assist agricultural extension agencies understand and devise appropriate interventions in agriculture and food security that are suitable to the diverse cultural settings of farmers in the study area. It is also hoped that the findings of this study would help development agencies, including agricultural extension organizations target food insecure communities and ethnic groups for participation in food security interventions. The results of the study would  assist efforts by nutritionists to direct changes in food consumption patterns for optimal  nutritional  conditions.  If adopted,  the findings  of this study  would  assist  the Nigerian  government  re-strategize  and develop  an approach  that  would  ensure  better progress toward achieving the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of  reducing the number of food insecure by half by 2015. Finally, the result of this study will be of immense use to future researchers.

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