Examination of Socio-Economic Determinants of Household Food Insecurity in Juba Valley Region, Somalia
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Date
2016
Authors
Ali, Ahmed
Mutundu, Kennedy
Ngare, Grace Wamue
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Contemporary Research Center
Abstract
Despite much evidence showing that Somalia used to be food sufficient in the 1960s and 1970s, and
there is every indication that it has the potential to be food secure, 70% of its households remain
hungry in the 21st century. Studies on the subject have attributed this to decades of severe climate
shocks and political instability. However, the underlying causes of food insecurity among
households in Somalia are an under-researched topic. Thus, the broader objective of this study was
to examine socio-economic determinants of household food insecurity in Juba Valley Region of
Southern Somalia once regarded as the breadbasket of the country. Further, the influence of family
structure and income dynamics of the households on food insecurity was investigated. The study
employed interviews among households, key informant interviews, Focus Group Discussions,
literature review as well as direct field observation methods to collect data. Determinants of Socioeconomic
food insecurity in the area were analyzed using mixed regression methods. The gender of
household head, age, and marital status (p-value < 0.05) contributed as the key to determine
household structure variables. The study found that credit acquisition for food, main source of food,
and seed shortage were significant variables (p-value < 0.05). The study concludes that the main
socioeconomic factors that influence food insecurity among households are the gender of the
household head, age, marital status, and households’ weak income base. Despite their importance,
factors such as occupation, household size, and number of dependents, land size, river access,
irrigation and seed type were not really significant according to the fitted model.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
Food security, Food insecurity, Food Sufficient, Household Food security, Socio- Economic Determinants, Household Food Insecurity
Citation
International Journal of Education and Research Vol. 4 No. 10; October 2016