ASSESSMENT OF FOOD SECURITY STATUS OF HOUSEHOLDS IN

OWERRI MUNICIPAL, IMO STATE

BY

DIKE CHINEMEREM SANTOS

20171035817

A PROJECT PROPOSAL SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF

PUBLICHEALTH, SCHOOL OF HEALTH TECHNOLOGY, FEDERAL

UNIVERISTY OF TECHNOLOGY OWERRI

MARCH, 2023.

1
ASSESSMENT OF FOOD SECURITY STATUS OF HOUSEHOLDS IN

OWERRI MUNICIPAL, IMO STATE

BY

DIKE CHINEMEREM SANTOS

20171035817

A PROJECT PROPOSAL SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF

PUBLIC HEALTH, SCHOOL OF HEALTH TECHNOLOGY, FEDERAL

UNIVERISTY OF TECHNOLOGY OWERRI

IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF

TECHNOLOGY (B.TECH) DEGREE IN PUBLIC HEALTH.

MARCH, 2023.

2
 CERTIFICATION
This is to certify that this study on “Assessment Of Food Security Status Of
Households In Owerri Municipal, Imo State” written by Dike Chinemerem
(20171035817) was formally approved as an undergraduate project of the
Department of Public Health, School of Health Technology, Federal University
of Technology, Owerri.

………………………
……………………..
Miss Akam N. Victoria DATE
(Project Supervisor)

……………………..
…………………….
DR U. M. CHUKWUOCHA DATE
H.O.D (Public Health)

……………………..
…………………….
PROF P. U. AGBASI DATE
DEAN (SOHT)

3
 DEDICATION
This project is dedicated to God Almighty and to my beloved parents.

4
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My acknowledgement goes firstly to my amiable supervisor, Miss. Akam N.
Victoria who is like a mother to me and makes sure that I give this research
work nothing but the best.

A highly placed and reserved appreciation to the Dean, School of Health

Technology (SOHT), Prof. P. U. Agbasi, Head of Department, Public Health,
Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Dr U. M. Chukwuocha, Prof A. N.
Amadi Prof. (Mrs.) E.A Nwoke, Rev. Sr. (Prof.) E.T. Oparaocha, Prof. I.N.S.
Dozie, Dr. (Mrs.) S. Ibe, Dr. (Mrs.) B.O. Nworuh, Dr. (Mrs.) C.R. Nwufo, Dr.
U.M. Chukwuocha, Dr. C.C.O. Okereke, Dr. C.C Iwuala, Dr. O.G. Udujih, Dr.
C.I.C. Ebirim, Dr. (Mrs.) C.O.A. Amadi, Mr. G.N.U. Iwuoha, MrsOkorie M.
Mrs. S.M. Orji, Miss J.C. Ezelote, Dr. U. G Ekeleme, Dr. (Mrs.) C. O. Akanazu,
Dr. (Mrs.) U. W. Dozie Miss Akam, Mrs J. C Nwakanma, Mrs. M. Udeh and
the non-academic staff of this noble department for their professional,
outstanding and updated knowledge instilled on me. May God who rewards
good deeds bless you all, Amen.

I reserve my thanks to my course adviser Mrs. Judith Ezelote for her advice on
not to relent in my academic efforts despite all challenges that are coming my
way. I also acknowledge the effort of my Friends who helped me towards
making this work a success.

I acknowledge also my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Dike for all their support and
prayers for me all through the period of my academic pursuit.

I appreciate my siblings for their consistent prayers and support towards me and
above all wisdom from above.

5
 TABLES OF CONTENS
Content page
Cover page i
Title Page ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Table of contents vii
List of figures Ix

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of Study 1
1.2 Statement of Problem 3
1.3 Objectives of the Study 5
1.3.1 Specific. Objectives 5
1.4 Research Questions 5
1.5 Scope of the Study 6
1.6 Significance of the Study 6
1.8. Operational Definition of Terms 7

CHAPTER TWO
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
2.1 Conceptual Framework 8

2.1.1 Overview of Food Security 8

2.1.2 Measurement of Food Security 10

2.1.3 Rates of Food Insecurity Globally 14

2.1.4 Prevalence of Food Insecurity in Nigeria 15

2.1.5 Pillars of food security 17

6
2.1.5.1 Availability 18
2.1.5.2 Access 19
2.1.5.3 Utilization 21
2.1.5.4 Stability 22
2.1.5.5 Agency 23
2.1.5.6 Sustainability 24
2.1.6 Effects of food insecurity 24
2.1.6.1 Stunting and chronic nutritional deficiencies 26
2.1.6.2 Depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders 28
2.1.7 Challenges to achieving food security 29
2.1.7.1 Global water crisis 29
2.1.7.2 Land degradation 31
2.1.7.3 Climate change 32
2.1.7.4 Agricultural diseases 34
2.1.7.5 Food versus fuel 35
2.1.7.6 Politics 35
2.1.7.7 Food loss and waste 37
2.1.7.8 Overfishing 39
2.1.8 Risks to food security 39
2.1.8.1 Population growth 39
2.1.8.2 Fossil fuel dependence 40
2.1.8.3 Economic 41
Price setting 41
Inflation 42
Land use change 42
2.1.8.4 Global catastrophic risks 42
2.2 Theoretical Framework 44
7
2.2.1 Ecological Theory 44

2.2.2 Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) 45

2.3 Empirical studies 46

CHAPTER THREE
MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY
3.1 Study Design 50
3.2 Area of Study 50
3.3 Study Population 52
3.3.1 Inclusion criteria 52

3.3.2 Exclusion criteria 52

3.4 Sampling 52
3.4.1 Sample Size determination 52

3.4.2 Sampling Method 53

3.5 Instrument for Data Collection 54

3.6 Validity of the Instrument 55

3.7 Reliability of Instrument

55
3.8 Method of Data Collection 56
3.9 Method of Data Analysis 56
3.10 Ethical Consideration 56
REFERENCES 57
APPENDIX I (QUESTIONNAIRE) 67

8
 LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1: Prevalence of severe food insecurity in Nigeria

from 2014 to 2021 15

Figure 3.1: Map of Owerri Municipal 51

9
 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

Food is the basic need and necessity of life that must be satisfied before any

other emerging need (World bank, 2020). Its importance is seen in the fact that

it is a basic means of sustenance and adequate food intake, in terms of quantity

and quality, is a key for healthy and productive life. The importance of food is

also shown in the fact that it accounts for a substantial part of a typical Nigerian

household budget (Omonona & Agoi, 2017). Food security focuses primarily on

food availability and to some degree the price stability of basic food stuffs at the

international and national level (Clay, 2019; FAO, 2020). Food security exists

when 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 (Idachaba, 2018; Duffuor, 2018; FAO,

2019). According to FAO (2021), food security underlies the consumption, at

any time, by all members of the household (men, women, boys, and girls) of an

alimentation adequate in quality and quantity, for an active healthy life. The

concept of food security includes both physical and economic access to address

people’s needs and preferences (Osuji, 2018). In that way, a household should

have the possibility to consider all its members at all times. FAO (2017) enlisted

three main steps towards achieving food security such as; food availability, food

10
accessibility, and food utilization. Firstly, food must be available in sufficient

quantities, continuously and consistently. The concept refers to stocks and

production in a given area, and the capacity to import food from elsewhere. It

implies selfsufficiency of a household, of the community, and of the nation as a

whole. Secondly, people must be able to regularly acquire food, through home

and local production or importation. Food access suggests the availability of

sufficient resources to obtain nutritious food, without resorting to emergency

aid or other coping strategies. Food access refers equally to sharing practices

within the household. Hence, household food access is the ability to obtain

sufficient food of guaranteed quality and quantity to meet nutritional

requirements of all household members (Osuji, 2018). Here, the food should be

at right place at the right time and people should have economic freedom or

purchasing power to buy adequate and nutritious food. Lastly, there must be

absolute utilization of available food (includes storage, processing, preservation,

cooking, and consumption) and also it must be accessible to households without

waste.

However, the concept of food security cannot be complete without relating it to

the households’ level. A household is considered food secure when its

occupants do not live in hunger or fear of starvation (FAO, 2021). Households’

food security can be defined as the ability of individuals to access an adequate

supply of food, on stable basis, and in sustainable way (World Bank, 2018).

11
FAO (2021) further opined household food security as access by all people at

all times to enough food (of good quality) for an active, healthy life.

Consequently, absence of food security is food insecurity; food insecurity on the

other hand represents lack of access to enough food or exists when people do

not have adequate physical, social or economic access to food which can either

be chronic or on temporary basis (Amaka et al. 2016). This study sets out to

assess the food security status of households in Owerri Municipal of Imo State.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Food insecurity is a major development problem that is caused by myriad of

factors in the global, regional, national and local spheres of human life. Several

efforts have been put in place to alleviate food security, globally, nationally and

even locally (Icheria & Kabill, 2018). FAO (2021) opined that chronic food

insecurity arises from lack of resources to acquire and produce food thereby

leading to persistent inadequate diet. FAO (2019) refers to food insecurity as the

consequences of inadequate consumption of nutritious food bearing in mind that

the physiological use of food is within the domain of nutrition and health. When

individuals cannot provide enough food for their families, it leads to hunger and

poor health. Poor health reduces one’s ability to work and live a productive

healthy life (Otaha, 2019). According to Cruz (2020) and Valdés et al. (2019),

majority (more than 80 per cent) of the smallholders in the world are food

insecure and depend on land as their primary source of livelihoods. Studies

12
(Nweze & Gloria, 2018; Out et al., 2019) have identified low agricultural

productivity among others as responsible for food shortage and insecurity

among households.

Cases of malnutrition and under nutrition are growing by the day. As a result,

the energy food intake requirements of most households have fallen far below

the international standard (Olajide & Dopple, 2018). Similarly, the changing

climatic pattern and over reliance on rainfed agriculture pose a serious food

security challenge in rural areas. Other associated threats to food security

include; inconsistent government policies, gender inequality, poor extension

services, crude agricultural practices, poverty, illiteracy, population increase,

corruption, political instability, extreme weather conditions, pests and livestock

diseases, and environmental issues such as erosion, flood, drought,

desertification, etc these impacts negatively on crop production thereby leading

to food reduction (Nweze and Gloria, 2018; Olajide, 2019).

The supply side approach of measuring food security (e.g. measurement of total

food production and availability and food Balance sheet) commonly used in

Nigeria only focuses on food availability at the macro or national level and does

not satisfactorily capture what happens in terms of food availability, access and

utilization at the households and individual levels (Akinyele 2019: Liverpool-

Tasie et al., 2021: Adebayo, 2020: Oruche, 2018).This study would be able to

13
provide latest information regarding food security status of households in

Owerri Municipal, Imo State.

1.3 Aim and objectives of the study

1.3.1 Aim of the study USE GENERAL OBJECTIVE NOT AIM

The aim of this study is to assess the food security status of households in

Owerri Municipal of Imo State, Nigeria.

1.3.2 Specific Objectives of the study

The specific objectives of this study, therefore, would be to:

1. Determine the food security status of the households in Owerri

Municipal,

2. Identify the coping strategies employed among food insecured

households in Owerri Municipal cushioning the effects of food

insecurity,

1.4 Research Questions

1. What is the food security status of various households in Owerri

Municipal?

2. What are the coping strategies employed among food insecured

households in Owerri Municipal cushioning the effects of food

insecurity?

14
1.5 Research Hypothesis

H0: There is no significant relationship between socio-economic characteristics

of the households and food security status.

H1: There is significant relationship between socio-economic characteristics of

the households and food security status.

1.6 Significance of the study

This study hopes to contribute to the on-going debate in development of

literatures on the relationship between household food security status and

community food resources.

Will help policy makers in designing policies and programs implemented to

improve community food security billed to address diverse range of issues,

including participation in and access to Federal food/agricultural assistance

programmes, economic opportunity and job security, community development

and social cohesion, ecologically sustainable agricultural production, farmland

preservation, economic viability of rural communities, direct food marketing,

and diet related health problems. The report of this study will also serve as a

source of literature to researchers and scholars in future research.

1.7 Scope of the Study

The scope of the study will cover mainly households in Owerri Municipal of

Imo State.
15
1.7 Operational Definition of Terms

Food Security: Is a condition related to the availability of food supply, group of

people as well as individuals’ access to it. It is also the state of having reliable

access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.

Household: A household includes the related family members and all the

unrelated people, if any, such as lodgers, foster children, wards, or employees

who share the housing unit.

16
 CHAPTER TWO

LIETERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Conceptual Framework

2.1.1 Overview of Food Security

Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and

the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and

source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations'Committee on

World Food Security, food security is defined as meaning that all people, at all

times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and

nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active

and healthy life (International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), 2020).

The availability of food irrespective of class, gender or region is another

element of food security. There is evidence of food security being a concern

many thousands of years ago, with central authorities in ancient China and

ancient Egypt being known to release food from storage in times of famine. At

the 1974 World Food Conference, the term "food security" was defined with an

emphasis on supply; food security is defined as the "availability at all times of

adequate, nourishing, diverse, balanced and moderate world food supplies of

basic foodstuffs to sustain a steady expansion of food consumption and to offset

fluctuations in production and prices" (FAO, 2019). Later definitions added

17
demand and access issues to the definition. The first World Food Summit, held

in 1996, stated that food security "exists when all people, at all times, have

physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet

their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life (Raj,

2018)."

Similarly, household food security is considered to exist when all members, at

all times, have access to enough food for an active, healthy life (FAO, 2019).

Individuals who are food secure do not live in hunger or fear of starvation

(FAO, 2020). Food insecurity, on the other hand, is defined by the United States

Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a situation of "limited or uncertain

availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain

ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways" (Gary et al.,

2020). Food security incorporates a measure of resilience to future disruption or

unavailability of critical food supply due to various risk factors including

droughts, shipping disruptions, fuel shortages, economic instability, and wars

(FAO, 2021).

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, or FAO,

identified the four pillars of food security as availability, access, utilization, and

stability.[9] The United Nations (UN) recognized the Right to Food in the

Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, and has since said that it is vital for the

enjoyment of all other rights (FAO, 2019: United Nations, 2022).

18
The concept of food security has evolved to recognize the centrality of agency

and sustainability, along with the four other dimensions of availability, access,

utilization and stability. These six dimensions of food security are reinforced in

conceptual and legal understandings of the right to food (FAO, 2021).

The 1996 World Summit on Food Security declared that "food should not be

used as an instrument for political and economic pressure" (FAO, 2019).

Multiple different international agreements and mechanisms have been

developed to address food security. The main global policy to reduce hunger

and poverty is in the Sustainable Development Goals. In particular Goal 2: Zero

Hunger sets globally agreed on targets to end hunger, achieve food security and

improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture by 2030 (Webb et al.,

2017).

2.1.2 Measurement of Food Security

Food security can be measured by calories to digest out to intake per person per

day, available on a household budget (Perez-Escamilla & Segall-Correa, 2018).

In general, the objective of food security indicators and measurements is to

capture some or all of the main components of food security in terms of food

availability, accessibility, and utilization/adequacy. While availability

(production and supply) and utilization/adequacy (nutritional

status/anthropometric measurement) are easier to estimate and therefore, more

popular, accessibility (the ability to acquire the sufficient quantity and quality of

19
food) remains largely elusive (Barrett, 2019). The factors influencing household

food accessibility are often context-specific (Swindale& Bilinsky, 2019).

Several measurements have been developed to capture the access component of

food security, with some notable examples developed by the USAID-funded

Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance (FANTA) project, collaborating with

Cornell and Tufts University and Africare and World Vision (Coates et al.,

2017). These include:

 Household Food Insecurity Access Scale – measures the degree of food

insecurity (inaccessibility) in the household in the previous month on a

discrete ordinal scale.

 Household Dietary Diversity Scale – measures the number of different

food groups consumed over a specific reference period

(24hrs/48hrs/7days).

 Household Hunger Scale - measures the experience of household food

deprivation based on a set of predictable reactions, captured through a

survey and summarized in a scale.

 Coping Strategies Index (CSI) – assesses household behaviors and rates

them based on a set of varied established behaviors on how households

cope with food shortages. The methodology for this research is based on

collecting data on a single question: "What do you do when you do not

20
 have enough food, and do not have enough money to buy food

(Oldewage-Theron et al., 2018)?"

Food insecurity is measured in the United States by questions in the Census

Bureau's Current Population Survey. The questions asked are about anxiety that

the household budget is inadequate to buy enough food, inadequacy in the

quantity or quality of food eaten by adults and children in the household, and

instances of reduced food intake or consequences of reduced food intake for

adults and for children (FAO, 2021). A National 0Academy of Sciences study

commissioned by the USDA criticized this measurement and the relationship of

"food security" to hunger, adding "it is not clear whether hunger is appropriately

identified as the extreme end of the food security scale (Coates et al., 2017)."

Recently, FAO has developed the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) as a

universally applicable experience-based food security measurement scale

derived from the scale used in the United States. Thanks to the establishment of

a global reference scale and the procedure needed to calibrate measures

obtained in different countries, it is possible to use the FIES to produce cross-

country comparable estimates of the prevalence of food insecurity in the

population (Cafiero et al., 2018). Since 2015, the FIES has been adopted as the

basis to compile one of the indicators included in the Sustainable Development

Goals (SDG) monitoring framework.

21
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World

Food Programme (WFP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development

(IFAD), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations

Children's Fund (UNICEF) collaborate every year to produce The State of Food

Security and Nutrition in the World, or SOFI report (known as The State ofFood

Insecurity in the World until 2015).

The SOFI report measures chronic hunger (or undernourishment) by means of

two main indicators, the Number of undernourished (NoU) and the Prevalence

of undernourishment (PoU). Beginning in the early 2010s, FAO incorporated

more complex metrics into its calculations, including estimates of food losses in

retail distribution for each country and the volatility in agri-food systems. Since

2016, it also reports the Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity based

on the FIES.

Recent editions of the SOFI report present evidence that the decades-long

decline in hunger in the world, as measured by the Number of undernourished

(NoU), has ended. In the 2020 report, FAO used newly accessible data from

China to revise the global NoU downwards to nearly 690 million, or 8.9 percent

of the world population – but having recalculated the historic hunger series

accordingly, it confirmed that the number of hungry people in the world, albeit

lower than previously thought, had been slowly increasing since 2014. On

broader measures, the SOFI report found that far more people suffered some

22
form of food insecurity, with 3 billion or more unable to afford even the

cheapest healthy diet (FAO, 2021). Nearly 2.37 billion people did not have

access to adequate food in 2020 – an increase of 320 million people compared

to 2019 (FAO, 2021). FAO's 2021 edition of The State of Food and Agriculture

(SOFA) further estimates that an additional 1 billion people (mostly on lower-

and upper-middle-income countries) are at risk of not affording a healthy diet if

a shock were to reduce their income by a third (FAO, 2021).

2.1.3 Rates of Food Insecurity Globally

The 2021 edition of the SOFI report estimated the hunger excess linked to the

COVID-19 pandemic at 30 million people by the end of the decade – FAO had

earlier warned that even without the pandemic, the world was off track to

achieve Zero Hunger, or Goal 2 of the Sustainable Development Goals – it

further found that already in the first year of the pandemic, the prevalence of

undernourishment (PoU) had increased 1.5 percentage points, reaching a level

of around 9.9 percent. This is the mid-point of an estimate of 720 to 811 million

people facing hunger in 2020 – as many as 161 million more than in 2019. [28][29]

The number had jumped by some 446 million in Africa, 57 million in Asia, and

about 14 million in Latin America and the Caribbean (FAO, 2021).

At the global level, the prevalence of food insecurity at moderate or severe

level, and severe level only, is higher among women than men, magnified in

rural areas (FAO, 2021). The gender gap in accessing food increased from 2018

23
to 2019, particularly at the moderate or severe level (FAO, 2020). Today, more

than one billion women and girls around the world still do not have access to

the healthy diets they need to survive and thrive, and two-thirds of countries

report higher rates of food insecurity for women than men especially in the Near

East area (FAO, 2021).

2.1.4 Prevalence of Food Insecurity in Nigeria

Figure 2.1: Prevalence of severe food insecurity in Nigeria from 2014 to 2021

Source: (Sasu, 2022)

Between 2018 and 2020, on average 21.4 percent of population in Nigeria

experienced hunger (Sasu, 2022). People in severe food insecurity would go for

entire days without food, due to lack of money or other resources. In the past

24
years, the prevalence of severe food insecurity among the Nigeria population

has been increasing, as the demand for food is rising together with a very fast-

growing population (Sasu, 2022).

Nigeria is one of the most populous countries in the world with more than 200

million people. To maintain the health and wellbeing of this growing

population, there are certain things that are sine qua non -- basic amenities, food

and shelter. These need to be available, affordable and accessing to all citizens,

especially poor and vulnerable groups.

Unfortunately, this is not the case in Nigeria. There are various challenges along

the food value chain of production, distribution, processing and storage. These

include climate change, insurgency and conflict in many parts of the country,

natural disasters and pandemic-related shocks, which all affect food production

and push food prices up (Save the Children, 2022). Given the scale of these

challenges for Nigeria, achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 of

zero hunger and other related SDGs may be a tall order.

Conflict and violence are exacerbating food insufficiency in Nigeria. As the

maize-seller I spoke to told me, there have been attacks on farming

communities by various armed groups and agitators. These attacks are

heightened by ethnic, religious and political tensions in the country (Save the

Children, 2022). Families are losing their sources of livelihood on a daily basis.

25
One of the terrible manifestations of widespread deprivation in Nigeria is child

poverty, the result of insufficient family livelihoods. Many Nigerians do not

earn $1 per day. Nationally, about 43% of Nigerians (89 million people) live

below the poverty line, while another 25% (53 million people) are vulnerable

(Save the Children, 2022). For a country with massive wealth and a huge

population to support commerce, a well-developed economy, and plenty of

natural resources, the level of poverty remains unacceptable.

Finally, gender inequality in Nigeria is also a critical factor in food insecurity.

Rural farmers are predominantly women who do not have access to land and

credit and are cut out of certain household decisions. This has widened the gap

between rich people and poor people. And it has created instability in food

production and blocked the progress towards ending hunger.

2.1.5 Pillars of food security

The WHO states that there are three pillars that determine food security: food

availability, food access, and food use and misuse (WHO, 2020). The FAO adds

a fourth pillar: the stability of the first three dimensions of food security over

time (FAO, 2019). In 2009, the World Summit on Food Security stated that the

"four pillars of food security are availability, access, utilization, and stability"

(FAO, 2019). Two additional pillars of food security were recommended in

2020 by the High Level Panel of Experts for the Committee on World Food

Security: agency and sustainability (IFPRI, 2020).

26
2.1.5.1 Availability

Food availability relates to the supply of food through production, distribution,

and exchange (Gregory et al., 2017). Food production is determined by a

variety of factors including land ownership and use; soil management; crop

selection, breeding, and management; livestock breeding and management; and

harvesting (FAO, 2019). Crop production can be affected by changes in rainfall

and temperatures (Gregory et al., 2017). The use of land, water, and energy to

grow food often competes with other uses, which can affect food production

(Godfray et al., 2018). Land used for agriculture can be used for urbanization or

lost to desertification, salinization, and soil erosion due to unsustainable

agricultural practices (Godfray et al., 2018). Crop production is not required for

a country to achieve food security. Nations do not have to have the natural

resources required to produce crops in order to achieve food security, as seen in

the examples of Japan and Singapore (Pravhat, 2017).

Because food consumers outnumber producers in every country, food must be

distributed to different regions or nations. Food distribution involves the

storage, processing, transport, packaging, and marketing of food (Tweeten,

2019). Food-chain infrastructure and storage technologies on farms can also

affect the amount of food wasted in the distribution process (FAO, 2019). Poor

transport infrastructure can increase the price of supplying water and fertilizer

as well as the price of moving food to national and global markets (Godfray et

27
al., 2018). Around the world, few individuals or households are continuously

self-reliant for food. This creates the need for a bartering, exchange, or cash

economy to acquire food (Gregory et al., 2017). The exchange of food requires

efficient trading systems and market institutions, which can affect food security

(Ecker & Breisinger, 2017). Per capita world food supplies are more than

adequate to provide food security to all, and thus food accessibility is a greater

barrier to achieving food security (Tweeten, 2019).

2.1.5.2 Access

Goats are an important part of the solution to global food security because they

are fairly low-maintenance and easy to raise and farm.

Food access refers to the affordability and allocation of food, as well as the

preferences of individuals and households (Gregory et al., 2017). The UN

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights noted that the causes of

hunger and malnutrition are often not a scarcity of food but an inability to

access available food, usually due to poverty (United Nations, 2022). Poverty

can limit access to food, and can also increase how vulnerable an individual or

household is to food price spikes (Ecker & Breisinger, 2017). Access depends

on whether the household has enough income to purchase food at prevailing

prices or has sufficient land and other resources to grow its own food. [91]

Households with enough resources can overcome unstable harvests and local

food shortages and maintain their access to food (Tweeten, 2019).

28
There are two distinct types of access to food: direct access, in which a

household produces food using human and material resources, and economic

access, in which a household purchases food produced elsewhere (FAO, 2019).

Location can affect access to food and which type of access a family will rely

on (Garrett & Ruel, 2019). The assets of a household, including income, land,

products of labor, inheritances, and gifts can determine a household's access to

food (FAO, 2019). However, the ability to access sufficient food may not lead

to the purchase of food over other materials and services (Ecker & Breisinger,

2017). Demographics and education levels of members of the household as well

as the gender of the household head determine the preferences of the household,

which influences the type of food that are purchased (Garrett & Ruel, 2019). A

household's access to enough and nutritious food may not assure adequate food

intake of all household members, as intrahousehold food allocation may not

sufficiently meet the requirements of each member of the household (Ecker &

Breisinger, 2017). The USDA adds that access to food must be available in

socially acceptable ways, without, for example, resorting to emergency food

supplies, scavenging, stealing, or other coping strategies (FAO, 2021).

Socially transmitted stereotypes and beliefs about certain groups can lead to

discrimination and potentially to marginalization, resulting in exclusion from

social and economic life. For example, when individuals cannot participate in

the cultural norms in their community, such as having access to food to

29
celebrate religious or cultural holidays due to exclusion from society, it can

increase their chance of being food insecure (Meijs et al., 2020). Specifically,

their social and psychological wellbeing will not be fulfilled. In particular,

indigenous peoples are at a higher risk of food insecurity due to exclusion,

evident by the higher rates of stunting in indigenous communities (e.g.

Guatemala) compared to non-indigenous communities. This can also be

attributed to the inability to protect access to traditional foods and bio-cultural

resources that form the basis of their diet.

Culture shapes eating and meal patterns, and can determine ingrained rituals

such as when and how a meal is eaten and prepared (Briones et al., 2018).

Resettled refugees, for example, can face difficulties assimilating to the new

cultural ways of eating and navigating the new food environment, placing them

at a higher risk of food insecurity despite having physical access to food.

2.1.5.3 Utilization

The next pillar of food security is food utilization, which refers to the

metabolism of food by individuals (Tweeten, 2019). Once food is obtained by a

household, a variety of factors affect the quantity and quality of food that

reaches members of the household. In order to achieve food security, the food

ingested must be safe and must be enough to meet the physiological

requirements of each individual (Ecker & Breisinger, 2017). Food safety affects

food utilization, and can be affected by the preparation, processing, and cooking

30
of food in the community and household (FAO, 2019). How we prepare food is

largely influenced by our culture (Briones et al., 2018). Traditional food

processing can greatly affect food utilization and influence present-day food

preparation. Techniques such as fermenting, germination and soaking can

improve the nutritional value and safety of food while being cost and energy

efficient. Exploring the benefits of traditional techniques and how different

cultures utilize food can allow for a deeper understanding of food processing,

preparation and storage of food and increase overall food security. Nutritional

values of the household determine food choice, and whether food meets cultural

preferences is important to utilization in terms of psychological and social well-

being (Loring & Gerlach, 2019). Access to healthcare is another determinant of

food utilization, since the health of individuals controls how the food is

metabolized (FAO, 2019). For example, intestinal parasites can take nutrients

from the body and decrease food utilization (Tweeten, 2019). Sanitation can

also decrease the occurrence and spread of diseases that can affect food

utilization (Petrikova & Hudson, 2017). Education about nutrition and food

preparation can affect food utilization and improve this pillar of food security

(Tweeten, 2019).

2.1.5.4 Stability

Food stability refers to the ability to obtain food over time. Food insecurity can

be transitory, seasonal, or chronic (FAO, 2019). In transitory food insecurity,

31
food may be unavailable during certain periods of time (Ecker & Breisinger,

2017). At the food production level, natural disasters and drought result in crop

failure and decreased food availability (FAO, 2019). Civil conflicts can also

decrease access to food (Ecker & Breisinger, 2017). Instability in markets

resulting in food-price spikes can cause transitory food insecurity. Other factors

that can temporarily cause food insecurity are loss of employment or

productivity, which can be caused by illness. Seasonal food insecurity can result

from the regular pattern of growing seasons in food production (FAO, 2019).

Chronic (or permanent) food insecurity is defined as the long-term, persistent

lack of adequate food (Ecker & Breisinger, 2017). In this case, households are

constantly at risk of being unable to acquire food to meet the needs of all

members. Chronic and transitory food insecurity are linked, since the

reoccurrence of transitory food security can make households more vulnerable

to chronic food insecurity (FAO, 2019).

2.1.5.5 Agency

Agency refers to the capacity of individuals or groups to make their own

decisions about what foods they eat, what foods they produce, how that food is

produced, processed and distributed within food systems, and their ability to

engage in processes that shape food system policies and governance.

32
2.1.5.6 Sustainability

Sustainability refers to the long-term ability of food systems to provide food

security and nutrition in a way that does not compromise the economic, social,

and environmental bases that generate food security and nutrition for future

generations.

2.1.6 Effects of food insecurity

Famine and hunger are both rooted in food insecurity. Chronic food insecurity

translates into a high degree of vulnerability to famine and hunger; ensuring

food security presupposes elimination of that vulnerability (Melaku, 2017).

Data shows that food insecurity has detrimental effects on a human's wellbeing.

Such effects include chronic and infectious diseases, especially diabetes and

HIV/AIDS, nutritional status and mental health (Hadley & Crooks, 2018).

Social and ecological factors must also be considered especially taking

sociocultural implications into account as those are related to child growth,

diseases and the nutritional status of an individual.

The coping of households is dependent on contextual factors, such as where an

individual is settled, namely rural, urban or marginal environments. The ways

households respond to food insecurity influences health aspects such as

infectious and chronic diseases, nutritional status and mental health. It is

essential for households to develop a sufficient coping strategy in order to

33
combat the negative impact food insecurity has on an individual's well-being.

Households experiencing food insecurity tend to have a greater number of

coping strategies than households with water insecurity (Wutich & Brewis,

2018). Even though there is a pattern of universal coping responses, it is

important to consider contextual factors, for instance the geographical and

social setting.

Biological anthropologists are thought to be essential for the contribution and

understanding of the relationship between food insecurity and human health.

They are interested in research and policy to improve food security in

populations around the world. By improving food insecurity, better food safety

is promoted (Hadley & Crooks, 2018).

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has disrupted global food supplies which had

already been hit hard by disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the

growing impact of climate change (Jagtap et al., 2022). The conflict has

severely impacted food supply chains with noteworthy effects on production,

sourcing, manufacturing, processing, logistics, and significant shifts in demand

between nations reliant on imports from Ukraine (Jagtap et al., 2022). In Asia

and the Pacific many of the region's countries depend on the importation of

basic food staples such as wheat and fertilizer with nearly 1.1 billion lacking a

healthy diet caused by poverty and ever increasing food prices. On September

27, 2022, the Asian Development Bank announced a plan for a comprehensive

34
range of assistance totaling $14 billion for both immediate and longer term

actions. The plan calls to improve long-term food security by strengthening

farming and food supplies to cope with climate change and loss of biodiversity

in Asia and the Pacific. Since 2018, ADB has identified food security as a key

operational priority. Under the program, assistance will start in 2022 and

continue through 2025 (Asian Development Bank, 2022).

Food insecurity can force individuals to undertake risky economic activities

such as prostitution. A report from ICAP at Columbia University found that

"Women and girls experiencing food insecurity were 28% more likely to engage

in transactional sex, defined as sex in exchange for material goods, including

food. They are also more likely to engage in high-risk or unprotected sex, sex

before the age of 15, forced sex, or sex with a man who is 10 or more years

older." This increases the risk of contracting HIV (Bayram, 2022).

2.1.6.1 Stunting and chronic nutritional deficiencies

Many countries experience ongoing food shortages and distribution problems.

These result in chronic and often widespread hunger amongst significant

numbers of people. Human populations can respond to chronic hunger and

malnutrition by decreasing body size, known in medical terms as stunting or

stunted growth (Das et al., 2019). This process starts in utero if the mother is

malnourished and continues through approximately the third year of life. It

leads to higher infant and child mortality, but at rates far lower than during

35
famines (Svefors, 2018). Once stunting has occurred, improved nutritional

intake after the age of about two years is unable to reverse the damage. Stunting

itself can be viewed as a coping mechanism, bringing body size into alignment

with the calories available during adulthood in the location where the child is

born (Svefors, 2018). Limiting body size as a way of adapting to low levels of

energy (calories) adversely affects health in three ways (Svefors, 2018):

 Premature failure of vital organs during adulthood. For example, a 50-

year-old individual might die of heart failure because his/her heart

suffered structural defects during early development;

 Stunted individuals suffer a higher rate of disease and illness than those

who have not undergone stunting;

 Severe malnutrition in early childhood often leads to defects in cognitive

development (Robert, 2017). It therefore creates disparity among children

who did not experience severe malnutrition and those who experience it

(Bhutta et al., 2017).

Between 2000 and 2019, the global prevalence of child stunting declined by

one-third (FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP & WHO, 2020).

Worldwide, the prevalence of child stunting was 21.3 percent in 2019, or 144

million children. Central Asia, Eastern Asia and the Caribbean have the largest

rates of reduction in the prevalence of stunting and are the only subregions on

36
track to achieve the 2025 and 2030 stunting targets (FAO, IFAD, UNICEF,

WFP & WHO, 2020).

Data from the 2021 FAO SOFI showed that in 2020, 22.0 percent (149.2

million) of children under 5 years of age were affected by stunting, 6.7 percent

(45.4 million) were suffering from wasting and 5.7 percent (38.9 million) were

overweight. FAO warned that the figures could be even higher due to the effects

of the COVID-19 pandemic (FAO, 2021).

Africa and Asia account for more than nine out of ten of all children with

stunting, more than nine out of ten children with wasting and more than seven

out of ten children who are affected by overweight worldwide (FAO, 2021).

The 2020 edition of FAO's Near East and North Africa − Regional Overview of

Food Security and Nutrition found that in 2019 22.5 percent of children under

the age of five were stunted, 9.2 percent were wasted, and 9.9 percent were

overweight across several Arab and North African countries (FAO, 2021).

Although there has been some progress, the world is not on track to achieve the

global nutrition targets, including those on child stunting, wasting and

overweight by 2030 (FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP & WHO, 2020).

2.1.6.2 Depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders

A recent comprehensive systematic review showed that over 50 studies have

shown that food insecurity is strongly associated with a higher risk of

37
depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders (Arenas et al., 2019). For depression

and anxiety, food-insecure individuals have almost a threefold risk increase

compared to food-secure individuals (Fang et al., 2021).

2.1.7 Challenges to achieving food security

2.1.7.1 Global water crisis

Water deficits, which are already spurring heavy grain imports in numerous

smaller countries, may soon do the same in larger countries, such as China or

India (Arenas et al., 2019). The water tables are falling in scores of countries

(including northern China, the US, and India) due to widespread overpumping

using powerful diesel and electric pumps. Other countries affected include

Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. This will eventually lead to water scarcity and

cutbacks in grain harvest. Even with the overpumping of its aquifers, China is

developing a grain deficit (Arenas et al., 2019). When this happens, it will

almost certainly drive grain prices upward. Most of the 3 billion people

projected to be born worldwide by mid-century will be born in countries already

experiencing water shortages. After China and India, there is a second tier of

smaller countries with large water deficits – Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt, Iran,

Mexico, and Pakistan. Four of these already import a large share of their grain.

Only Pakistan remains self-sufficient. But with a population expanding by 4

million a year, it will likely soon turn to the world market for grain (Bhutta et

al., 2017).

38
Regionally, Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest number of water-stressed

countries of any place on the globe, as of an estimated 800 million people who

live in Africa, 300 million live in a water-stressed environment (FAO, 2021). It

is estimated that by 2030, 75 million to 250 million people in Africa will be

living in areas of high water stress, which will likely displace anywhere

between 24 million and 700 million people as conditions become increasingly

unlivable (FAO, 2021). Because the majority of Africa remains dependent on an

agricultural lifestyle and 80 to 90 percent of all families in rural Africa rely

upon producing their own food, water scarcity translates to a loss of food

security (Bhutta et al., 2017).

Multimillion-dollar investments beginning in the 1990s by the World Bank have

reclaimed desert and turned the Ica Valley in Peru, one of the driest places on

earth, into the largest supplier of asparagus in the world. However, the constant

irrigation has caused a rapid drop in the water table, in some places as much as

eight meters per year, one of the fastest rates of aquifer depletion in the world.

The wells of small farmers and local people are beginning to run dry and the

water supply for the main city in the valley is under threat. As a cash crop,

asparagus has provided jobs for local people, but most of the money goes to the

buyers, mainly the British. A 2010 report concluded that the industry is not

sustainable and accuses investors, including the World Bank, of failing to take

proper responsibility for the effect of their decisions on the water resources of

39
poorer countries (Lawrence, 2018). Diverting water from the headwaters of the

Ica River to asparagus fields has also led to a water shortage in the mountain

region of Huancavelica, where indigenous communities make a marginal living

herding (Lawrence, 2018).

2.1.7.2 Land degradation

Several definitions of land degradation exist from literature with varying

emphasis on biodiversity, ecosystem functions and services (Intergovernmental

Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity Ecosystem Services I, 2018). One

definition of land degradation is "a negative trend in the condition of land that is

caused by direct or indirect human-induced processes inclusive of

anthropogenic climate change which is expressed as a long-term loss or

reduction of at least one of the following: biological productivity, ecological

integrity or value to humans." This definition is applicable to forest and non-

forest land and soil degradation (Olsson et al., 2019). Intensive farming often

leads to a vicious cycle of exhaustion of soil fertility and decline of agricultural

yields (Lawrence, 2018). Other causes of land degradation include

deforestation, overgrazing, over exploitation of vegetation for use (Lawrence,

2018). Approximately 40 percent of the world's agricultural land is seriously

degraded (Bhutta et al., 2017). According to UNU's Ghana-based Institute for

Natural Resources in Africa, if current trends of soil degradation continue,

40
Africa might be able to feed just 25 percent of its population by 2025 (UNCCD,

2022).

2.1.7.3 Climate change

Over the coming decades, a changing climate and environmental stressors will

have significant yet uncertain impacts on global food security (FAO, 2020).

Extreme events, such as droughts and floods, are forecast to increase with

climate change (UNCCD, 2022). Ranging from flash floods to gradually

worsening droughts, these will have a range of effects on agriculture as well as

the plants that various communities are able to grow (Borrell et al., 2020).

According to the Climate & Development Knowledge Network report

Managing Climate Extremes and Disasters in the Agriculture Sectors: Lessons

from the IPCC SREX Report, the effects will include changing productivity and

livelihood patterns, economic losses, and effects on infrastructure, markets and

food security. Food security in future will be linked to our ability to adapt

agricultural systems to extreme events. An example of a shifting weather pattern

would be a rise in temperatures. As temperatures rise due to climate change

there is a risk of a diminished food supply due to heat damage (Semenza, 2019).

According to recent statistics, the agricultural system produces around 21% to

37% greenhouses, contributing to the climate crisis and leaving a dire situation

for food security or malnutrition (UNCCD, 2022).

41
Approximately 2.4 billion people live in the drainage basin of the Himalayan

rivers (United Nations, 2022). India, China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh,

Nepal and Myanmar could experience floods followed by severe droughts in

coming decades (UNCCD, 2022). In India alone, the Ganges provides water for

drinking and farming for more than 500 million people (Singh, 2017). Glaciers

are not the only worry that the developing nations have; sea level is reported to

rise as climate change progresses, reducing the amount of land available for

agriculture (Krugman, 2018).

In other parts of the world, a big effect will be low yields of grain according to

the World Food Trade Model, specifically in the low latitude regions where

much of the developing world is located (Grote et al., 2021). From this, the

price of grain will rise, along with the developing nations trying to grow the

grain. Due to this, every 2–2.5% price hike will increase the number of hungry

people by 1% (Krugman, 2018). Low crop yields are just one of the problem

facing farmers in the low latitudes and tropical regions. The timing and length

of the growing seasons, when farmers plant their crops, are going to be

changing dramatically, per the USDA, due to unknown changes in soil

temperature and moisture conditions (Roy, 2017).

Another way of thinking about food security and climate change comes from

Evan Fraser, a geographer working at the University of Guelph in Ontario,

Canada. His approach is to explore the vulnerability of food systems to climate

42
change and he defines vulnerability to climate change as situations that occur

when relatively minor environmental problems cause major effects on food

security. Examples of this include the Ethiopian Famine in the early 1980s

(Fraser, 2017). Three factors stand out as common in such cases, and these three

factors act as a diagnostic "tool kit" through which to identify cases where food

security may be vulnerable to climate change. These factors are:

(1) specialized agro-ecosystems;

(2) households with very few livelihood options other than farming;

(3) situations where formal institutions do not provide adequate safety nets

to protect people (Fraser, 2017).

"The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) estimates that an

additional US$ 7.1–7.3 billion per year are needed in agricultural investments to

offset the negative effect of climate change on nutrition for children by 2050"

(United Nations, 2022).

2.1.7.4 Agricultural diseases

Diseases affecting livestock or crops can have devastating effects on food

availability especially if there are no contingency plans in place. For example,

Ug99, a lineage of wheat stem rust, which can cause up to 100% crop losses, is

present in wheat fields in several countries in Africa and the Middle East and is

predicted to spread rapidly through these regions and possibly further afield,

43
potentially causing a wheat production disaster that would affect food security

worldwide (Robin & Xan, 2017).

The genetic diversity of the crop wild relatives of wheat can be used to improve

modern varieties to be more resistant to rust. In their centers of origin wild

wheat plants are screened for resistance to rust, then their genetic information is

studied and finally wild plants and modern varieties are crossed through means

of modern plant breeding in order to transfer the resistance genes from the wild

plants to the modern varieties (Vincent et al., 2018).

2.1.7.5 Food versus fuel

Farmland and other agricultural resources have long been used to produce non-

food crops including industrial materials such as cotton, flax, and rubber; drug

crops such as tobacco and opium, and biofuels such as firewood, etc. In the 21st

century the production of fuel crops has increased, adding to this diversion.

However technologies are also developed to commercially produce food from

energy such as natural gas and electrical energy with tiny water and land foot

print (Robin & Xan, 2017).

2.1.7.6 Politics

Nobel Prize winning economist Amartya Sen observed that "there is no such

thing as an apolitical food problem" (Vincent et al., 2018). While drought and

other naturally occurring events may trigger famine conditions, it is government

44
action or inaction that determines its severity, and often even whether or not a

famine will occur. The 20th century has examples of governments, as in

Collectivization in the Soviet Union or the Great Leap Forward in the People's

Republic of China undermining the food security of their own nations. Mass

starvation is frequently a weapon of war, as in the blockade of Germany, the

Battle of the Atlantic, and the blockade of Japan during World War I and World

War II and in the Hunger Plan enacted by Nazi Germany.

Governments sometimes have a narrow base of support, built upon cronyism

and patronage. Fred Cuny pointed out in 1999 that under these conditions: "The

distribution of food within a country is a political issue. Governments in most

countries give priority to urban areas, since that is where the most influential

and powerful families and enterprises are usually located. The government often

neglects subsistence farmers and rural areas in general. The more remote and

underdeveloped the area the less likely the government will be to effectively

meet its needs. Many agrarian policies, especially the pricing of agricultural

commodities, discriminate against rural areas. Governments often keep prices of

basic grains at such artificially low levels that subsistence producers cannot

accumulate enough capital to make investments to improve their production.

Thus, they are effectively prevented from getting out of their precarious

situation" (Cuny, 2019).

45
In Venezuela the government has used food as a political weapon, rewarding

supporters while denying food supplies to areas that oppose their rule (Meridith

& Isayen, 2019).

A government with a strong tendency towards kleptocracy can undermine food

security even when harvests are good. When the rule of law is absent, or is non-

existent, farmers have little incentive to improve their productivity. If a farm

becomes noticeably more productive than neighboring farms, it may become the

target of individuals well connected to the government. Rather than risk being

noticed and possibly losing their land, farmers may be content with the

perceived safety of mediocrity (Lal, 2017).

2.1.7.7 Food loss and waste

Food waste may be diverted for alternative human consumption when economic

variables allow for it. In the 2019 edition of the State of Food and Agriculture,

FAO asserted that food loss and waste has potential effects on the four pillars of

food security. However, the links between food loss and waste reduction and

food security are complex, and positive outcomes are not always certain.

Reaching acceptable levels of food security and nutrition inevitably implies

certain levels of food loss and waste. Maintaining buffers to ensure food

stability requires a certain amount of food to be lost or wasted. At the same

time, ensuring food safety involves discarding unsafe food, which then is

46
counted as lost or wasted, while higher-quality diets tend to include more highly

perishable foods (FAO, 2019).

How the impacts on the different dimensions of food security play out and

affect the food security of different population groups depends on where in the

food supply chain the reduction in losses or waste takes place as well as on

where nutritionally vulnerable and food-insecure people are located

geographically (FAO, 2019).

The waste of consumable food is even gaining attention from large food

conglomerates. For instance, due to low food prices, simply discarding irregular

carrots has typically been more cost-effective than spending money on the extra

labor or machinery necessary to handle them. A juice factory in the

Netherlands, however, has developed a process to efficiently divert and use

previously rejected carrots, and its parent company is expanding this innovation

to plants in Great Britain (Meridith & Isayen, 2019).

In recent years, France has worked to combat food insecurity, in part by

addressing food waste; since 2013 the country has passed laws prohibiting

grocery stores from discarding unsold food items, requiring that they instead

donate the food to designated charities. Nevertheless, according to The

Economist's Global Food Security Index, overall food insecurity remains more

severe in France than the United States despite higher nation-wide estimates of

food waste in the U.S (Gibson, 2018).

47
Local efforts can directly help regional food security, particularly when

residents become mindful of the juxtaposition of food insecurity in their

communities with their own food waste at home. Learning that the average

family of four throws away $1,500 worth of food per year while neighbors may

be going hungry can provide the motivation to waste less and give more: waste

less money at the grocery store and give more to the food pantry (Washuk,

2018).

2.1.7.8 Overfishing

The overexploitation of fish stocks can pose serious risks to food security. In

2022 the United Nations called attention “considerably negative impact” on

food security of the fish oil and fishmeal industries in West Africa (McVeigh,

2022).

2.1.8 Risks to food security

2.1.8.1 Population growth

2017 UN projections show a continued increase in population in the future (but

a steady decline in the population growth rate), with the global population

expected to reach 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion by 2100 (United Nations,

2017). Estimates by the UN Population Division for the year 2150 range

between 3.2 and 24.8 billion; mathematical modeling supports the lower

estimate (United Nations, 2022). Some analysts have questioned the

48
sustainability of further world population growth, highlighting the growing

pressures on the environment, global food supplies, and energy resources

(Weber & Sciubba, 2019). Solutions for feeding the extra billions in the future

are being studied and documented (United Nations, 2022).

2.1.8.2 Fossil fuel dependence

While agricultural output has increased, energy consumption to produce a crop

has also increased at a greater rate, so that the ratio of crops produced to energy

input has decreased over time. Green Revolution techniques also heavily rely on

chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, many of which are petroleum

products, making agriculture increasingly reliant on petroleum (McVeigh,

2022).

Between 1950 and 1984, as the Green Revolution transformed agriculture

around the globe, world grain production increased by 250%. The energy for the

Green Revolution was provided by fossil fuels in the form of fertilizers (natural

gas), pesticides (oil), and hydrocarbon fueled irrigation (McVeigh, 2022).

Natural gas is a major feedstock for the production of ammonia, via the Haber

process, for use in fertilizer production (Mulvaney, 2017). The development of

synthetic nitrogen fertilizer has significantly supported global population

growth — it has been estimated that almost half the people on the Earth are

currently fed as a result of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer use (Erisman et al.,

49
2018). According to ICIS Fertilizers managing editor Julia Meehan, "People

don’t realise that 50% of the world’s food relies on fertilizers (FAO, 2021)."

2.1.8.3 Economic

Price setting

In 2008, Thailand, one of the world's biggest rice exporters, announced the

creation of the Organisation of Rice Exporting Countries with the potential to

develop into a price-fixing cartel for rice. It is a project to organize 21 rice

exporting countries to create a homonymous organisation to control the price of

rice. The group is mainly made up of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and

Myanmar. The organization attempts to serve the purpose of making a

"contribution to ensuring food stability, not just in an individual country but

also to address food shortages in the region and the world". However, it is still

questionable whether this organization will serve its role as an effective rice

price fixing cartel, that is similar to OPEC's mechanism for managing

petroleum. Economic analysts and traders said the proposal would go nowhere

because of the inability of governments to cooperate with each other and control

farmers' output. Moreover, countries that are involved expressed their concern

that this could only worsen the food security (McVeigh, 2022).

Inflation

50
Inflation can jeopardize food security and decrease the effectiveness of

measures meant to achieve it (Nord et al., 2022).

Land use change

China needs not less than 120 million hectares of arable land for its food

security. China has reported a surplus of 15 million hectares. By contrast, some

4 million hectares of conversion to urban use and 3 million hectares of

contaminated land have also been reported (Kong, 2017). A 2014 survey found

that 2.5% of China's arable land is too contaminated to grow food without harm

(Larson, 2017).

2.1.8.4 Global catastrophic risks

As anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions reduce the stability of the global

climate, abrupt climate change could become more intense (Solomon et al.,

2017). The impact of an asteroid or comet larger than about 1 km diameter has

the potential to block the sun globally, causing impact winter. Particles in the

troposphere would quickly rain out, but particles in the stratosphere, especially

sulfate, could remain there for years (Bostrom & Cirkovic, 2018). Similarly, a

supervolcanic eruption would reduce the potential of agricultural production

from solar photosynthesis, causing volcanic winter. The Toba super volcanic

eruption approximately 70,000 years ago may have nearly caused the extinction

of humans(Bostrom & Cirkovic, 2018). Again, primarily sulfate particles could

51
block the sun for years. Solar blocking is not limited to natural causes as nuclear

winter is also possible, which refers to the scenario involving widespread

nuclear war and burning of cities that release soot into the stratosphere that

would stay there for about 10 years (Robock et al., 2020). The high

stratospheric temperatures produced by soot absorbing solar radiation would

create near-global ozone hole conditions even for a regional nuclear conflict

(Mills et al., 2018).

A sufficiently powerful geomagnetic storm could result in the sudden absence

of access to electricity in large areas of the world. Because industrial farming is

increasingly dependent on constant access to electricity, for example in

precision livestock farming, a geomagnetic storm could potentially have

devastating effects to the food production (Lassen, 2019).

The World Food Programme has stated that pandemics such as the COVID-19

pandemic risk undermining the efforts of humanitarian and food security

organizations to maintain food security (United Nations, 2022). The

International Food Policy Research Institute expressed concerns that the

increased connections between markets and the complexity of food and

economic systems could cause disruptions to food systems during the COVID-

19 pandemic, specifically affecting the poor (Swinnen & McDermott, 2020).

The Ebola outbreak in 2014 led to increases in the prices of staple foods in West

Africa (World Food Programme, 2020).

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2.2 Theoretical Framework

2.2.1 Ecological Theory

The ecological theory and social-ecological model consider all of the personal

and environmental factors that impact and shape an individual’s life (Siporin,

2015). This perspective assists in a deeper understanding of how economic

states, such as poverty, can influence individual functioning. Research has

shown that socioeconomic status impacts not only physical and mental health,

but also social mobility (Kraus and Tan, 2015). A person born into poverty

struggles to escape economic inequality and their financial status becomes

cyclical and intergenerational (Benjamin et al., 2017). Mazumder (2014) found

that economic status can be more inheritable than certain physical attributes,

such as height. Education is an additional area of concern, as individuals living

in low-income neighbourhoods have a higher likelihood of experiencing

academic problems and dropping out of school (Wyatt-Nichol and Brown,

2011). The interplay between financial stressors and a struggle for social

mobility through education and the workforce, further exacerbates poor health

outcomes for males and females in this population (American Psychological

Association, 2016). The context in which low income persons live is rifled with

struggle.

2.2.2 Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)

SCT proposed that human behaviours, specific health behaviours are influenced

by personal factors (including cognitive, affective, biological, and other

53
personal factors), and environmental factor (Bandura, 2017). According to this

theory, cognitive factor and other personal factors regulate human behaviours,

while environmental factors may facilitate or impede an individual to perform

his/ her specific behaviour.

In SCT, a personal factor refers to cognitive, affective, biological properties,

and other personal factors. Cognition refers to what people think and believe

(Bandura, 2017). The person’s belief can affect thought patterns and thereby

can enhance or undermine the performance of behaviours. In addition, SCT

posited that affective states can influence person’s behaviours. Affection refers

to what people feel. Bandura proposed that person’s feeling can affect thought

patterns and thereby can enhance or undermine the performance of behaviours

(Bandura, 2017). The personal factor also encompasses the biological

properties. Biological properties refer to gender, ethnicity, temperament, and

genetic predisposition, Bandura proposed that biological properties can affect

human behaviour and impose constraints on human capabilities (Bandura,

2017). Another personal factor in SCT is physical states. It refers to physical

accomplishments, and health condition. Physical states influence human

behaviour (Bandura, 2017).

2.3 Empirical studies

Osuji (2017) carried out a study to investigate the analysis of food security

among farming households in Imo State, Nigeria. Multi-stage random sampling

54
technique was used to select 144 farmers for this study. Information on the

objectives of this study was elicited from the sampled respondents through a

well- structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics,

Food security index and Probit regression model. Results showed that the mean

age of the farmers was 64 years, 7 persons per household and 12 years of

educational attainment. Results also showed that only 35.4% of the farming

households were able to meet the recommended calorie intake of 2500kcal per

capita per day, while remaining was not. This result portrays that the study area

is food insecure since the proportion of food insecure households is greater than

that of food secure ones. The food surplus/insecurity gap index showed that

food secure households exceeded the calorie requirement by 314%, while the

food insecure households fell short of the calorie requirement by 76%. Age,

household size, educational attainment, farming experience, farm size, access to

credit, quantity of own production were determinants of food security status of

the farm households. The study recommended that government in collaboration

with other stakeholders in agriculture should strengthen existing policies in food

crop production.

Ibrahim et al., (2019) conducted a study designed to analyze the food security

status among rural farming families in Jigawa State. The study utilized

multistage random sampling technique to obtain a sample of 184 respondents.

Primary data were collected using structured questionnaire with the help of

well-trained enumerators. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and

55
food security index. Results revealed that rural farming households head were

predominantly male (71.7%) and most (79.9%), were married with one level of

education or another (67.4%).The mean age for the households’ head was 42

years and the mean household size was 10 persons per household. The mean for

farming experience and annual farm income of the respondents were 21.9 years

and ₦32,238 respectively. Using the recommended calorie required approach,

the study revealed that 30.4% and 69.6% of the households were food secure

and food insecure respectively. The perceived coping strategies in cushioning

the effects of food insecurity include consumption of less preferred food,

reduction in quantity and quality of food consumed, borrowing money to buy

food, sales of some assets. Based on the recommended energy level of 2, 900

Kilocalories per person per day, it could be concluded that the study area is food

insecure since a higher proportion of the sample households are food insecure.

The study therefore recommends that formal education be promoted by

government and other stakeholders as a means of improving food security as it

opens up more income earning opportunities for the farming households

especially in the non-farm sector, farmers should be encouraged by government

and nongovernmental organizations to increase their food crop production by

providing subsidized farm inputs, increase in access to credit facilities, this is

necessary for increased per capita food availability that is necessary for food

security, enlightenment programmes on health education and birth control

measures should be directed at the farming households, this is to reduce the

56
large family size observed in the area which could have effects on household

food security, food insecurity coping strategies adopted by the households can

only minimize its the impact therefore household heads should adopt more

sustainable approaches such as, engaging in income generating activities such

as petty trading and other off-farm activities.

Ohajianya (2018) carried a study which the need for a continued search for

sustainable strategies to solve this food insecurity situation in rural Nigeria

necessitated this study. Data were collected with structured questionnaire and

observation technique from 180 stratified randomly selected rural farm

household heads and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results showed that most of the rural farm households have experienced food

shortages and food shortage in the state is often the result of a complex

interaction of more than one cause. Seeking employment of any kind, sales of

livestock, rationing of food, borrowing from friends and relations, engaging in

other income generating activities, and consumption of neglected cheap

indigenous food products are the coping strategies mentioned by the

respondents, and there are no significant sex differentials in the use of strategies

to cope with food shortage in the state, but men have more control of the use of

productive resources. There is need for appropriate food production and

preservation technologies, equitable resource allocation, provision of irrigation

57
farming and cottage industries so as to adequately address the food insecurity

situation in Imo State, Nigeria.

58
 CHAPTER THREE

MATERIALS AND METHODS

3.1 Study Design

A descriptive Cross sectional Research design would be adopted for this study

on the assessment of food security status of households in Owerri Municipal.

3.2 Area of Study

Owerri Municipal is a Local Government Area of Imo State, Nigeria. Its

headquarters is in the city of Owerri. Before the advent of the British, Owere

town (anglicized Owerri) was and still is today made up of five villages namely

Umuororonjo, Amawom, Umuonyeche, Umuodu and Umuoyima (collectively

known as Owerri Nchi Ise). In these villages there are fifteen wards namely

Aladimma I,Aladimma II, Azuzii I, Azuzii II, Azuzii III, Azuzii IV, Azuzii V,

Ekeuwku, Gra, Ikenegbu I, Ikenegbu II, Ikenegbu III, Ikenegbu IV, New Owerri

I, New Owerri II. Historically, the indigenes of Owerri trace their ancestry to

Ekwem Arugo. With British influence and colonization in the early 1900s

Owerri town was the headquarters for Owerri Division and later old Owerri

Province. Also, when Imo State was created on the 3rd of February 1976,

59
 Figure 3.1: Map of Owerri Municipal

Source: (Google map 2022)

Owerri city was chosen as its capital. On the 15th of December 1996 Owerri

city attained municipal status. It has an area of 58 km² and a population of

127,213 according to the 2006 census. The postal code of the area is 460.

Owerri city sits at the intersection of roads from Port Harcourt, Onitsha, Aba,

Orlu, Okigwe and Umuahia. It is also the trade center for palm products, corn

[maize], yams and cassava. Eke Ukwu Owere market is the main market in

Owerri Municipal. The coordinates for Owerri municipal LGA is 5.4682° N,

7.0176° E.

3.3 Study Population

This study on assessment of food security status of households in Owerri

Municipal would be targeted at residents of Owerri Municipal LGA.

60
3.3.1 Inclusion criteria

This study will include only residents who are of the age of 18-65 in Owerri

Municipal LGA who are available and would give in their consent to participate

in the study.

3.3.2 Exclusion criteria

Non-residents of Owerri Municipal LGA, would be excluded from the study.

3.4 Sampling

3.4.1 Sample Size determination

The sample size is determined using the Taro &Yamene formula (1967) for

sample size determination.

N
n= 2
1+ Ne

Where:

n is the desired sample size

N is the population size (127,213)

e is margin of error (0.05)

Therefore,

N
n= 2
1+ Ne

61
 127,213
n= 2
1+ 127213 x (0.05)

127213
n = 319.0325

n = 398.74..............., 399

Furthermore, to account for 10% Non-Response Rate, (i.e. 90% response rate)

n = n/expected response ratio

399
0.90

n = 443.333................, 443

i.e. the total sample size for the study is 443

3.4.2 Sampling Method

The multi-stage simple random sampling procedure would be employed for the

study.

Stage 1: Selection of Communities

Simple random sampling would be used to select Three (3) Communities from

the 5 Communities in the Owerri Municipal LGA LIST THE COMMUNITIES.

This would be done via balloting without replacement to give every community

in the LGA an equal chance of being selected.

Stage 2: Selection of villages

62
Simple random sampling would be used to select 2 villages each from the 3

communities that would be randomly selected in the study area. This would be

done via balloting without replacement to give every village an equal chance of

being selected.

Stage 3: Selection of households

A systematic random sampling would be used to select households in the

selected villages, hence households that are three buildings apart (i.e every forth

household) in the selected villages would be sampled.

Stage 4: Selection of respondents

In each of the selected households, respondents would be recruited via a

convenience sampling technique. Convenience sampling technique is a non-

probability sampling technique whereby the researcher recruits respondents

present at the study area.

3.5 Instrument for Data Collection

The instrument for data collection would be a semi-structured questionnaire

aimed to obtain relevant information on food security status of the households in

Owerri Municipal. The Data tool (Questionnaire) will consist of three (3)

sections as follows: Section A:will consist of information on the socio

economic characteristics of respondents. Section B:will consist of questions on

the food security status of the households and Section C:will consist of

63
questions on the coping strategies employed among food insecured households

in Owerri Municipal L.G.A Imo State.

3.6 Validity of the instrument

The questionnaire as the instrument for data collection would be developed by

the researcher and would be submitted to the project supervisor for Face validity

and proper scrutiny in order to ensure that the questionnaire met the objectives

of study.

3.7 Reliability of Instrument

Reliability of the instrument would be determined using test retest method. 40

copies of the questionnaire would be given to some respondents outside the area

of study by the researcher. This area for reliability testing would be Ihiagwa

community in Owerri west LGA. This area shares similar characteristics with

the Owerri Municipal LGA that would be used for the study. Chrombach alpha

test would be used to test for the reliability of the questionnaire.

3.8 Method of Data collection

Data would be obtained using an interviewer based semi structured

questionnaire.

3.9 Method of Data Analysis

64
The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 would be

used in the analysis of the data gotten from the study. Results would be

expressed in percentages, frequencies, tables and charts (Descriptive Statistics).

3.10 Ethical consideration

A letter of introduction and ethical clearance would be obtained from the

Department of Public Health Ethical clearance committee in Federal University

of Technology Owerri (FUTO) before the research would commence. The

purpose of the research would be explained to each respondent and verbal

informed consent would be obtained from them before inclusion into the study.

Also, anonymity of the respondents would be assured and ensured. The

confidentiality of the information they give would be maintained.

65
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 APPENDIX I
Interview based questionnaire for residents in Owerri Municipal of Imo State.

ASSESSMENT FOOD SECURITY STATUS OF HOUSEHOLDS IN

OWERRI MUNICIPAL OF IMO STATE

Dear respondent,

My name is Dike Chinemerem Santos, a final year student of the Department of

Public Health, Federal University of Technology Owerri Imo state, carrying out
a research work on the above stated topic. I appeal to you to kindly respond to
the questions contained in this questionnaire with all sincerity. Be rest assured
that the information you provide will be treated with uttermost confidentiality
and will be strictly used for the purpose of this research work.
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 Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.

Please tick (√) where appropriate in the options provided below

SECTION A: SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS

1. Sex Male [ ] Female [ ]

2. Age (in years):
18-25 [ ] 26-30 [ ] 31-40 [ ] 41-50 [ ] 51-60 [ ] 61 and
above [ ]
3. Marital status:
Single [ ] Married [ ] Divorced [ ] Widowed [ ]
4. Level of education:
No formal education [ ] Primary [ ] Secondary [ ]
Tertiary [ ]
5. Household size (persons):
1-5 [ ] 6-10 [ ] 11-20 [ ] 21 and above [ ]
6. Occupation:
Student [ ] Farmer [ ] Civil servant [ ] Artisan [ ]
Self-employed [ ] Unemployed [ ]
7. Total annual income:
Less than N50,000 [ ]N51,000-N100,000 [ ]N101,000-N200,000 [ ]
N201,000-N300,000 [ ] N301,000 and above [ ]

SECTION B: food security status of the households in Owerri Municipal

SECTION B: FOOD SECURITY STATUS OF THE HOUSEHOLDS IN
OWERRI MUNICIPAL
Please tick (√) where appropriate in the options provided below
s/n Questions Often Sometimes Never
8 Do you worry if your food stock will run out
before you get another toeat?
9 Do you have enough resources to acquire enough
food?
10 Could you afford to eat balanced meals?
11 Do you supplement your children’s feed with low
cost foods?
12 Can you afford to feed your children balance
meals?
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13 Were your children not eating enough, because
you couldn’t affordenough food?
14 Do adults in your household skip meal or cut the
size of their usualmeals?
15 Do you eat less than what you feel, you should?
16 Were you ever hungry, but didn’t eat?
17 Did you lose weight, because there wasn’t enough
food to eat?
18 Did you or other adults in your household ever not
eat for a whole daybecause there wasn’t enough
money for food?
19 How often did this happen?
20 Did you ever cut the size of your children’s meal
because there wasn’tenough money for food?
21 Did any of the children ever skip meals, because
there wasn’t enoughfood to eat?
22 Did any of the children ever not eat for a whole
day?
23 Were the children ever hungry but you just
couldn’t afford more food?

SECTION C: COPING STRATEGIES EMPLOYED AMONG FOOD

INSECURE FAMILIES IN CUSHIONING THE EFFECTS OF FOOD
INSECURITY IN OWERRI MUNICIPAL.
s/ Coping strategy Very Regularly Occasionally Never
n often
24 Consumption of Less Preferred Food
25 Reduction in quality and quantity of
food consumed
26 Diversion of money meant for other
purposes to buy food
27 Borrowing money to buy food
28 Reduction in Number of Meal
29 Sales of some Assets
30 Allowing children to eat firs
31 Buying food on credit

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THANKS FOR YOUR COOPERATION

79