Perspectives on Food Security: A Gender based Comparison of Rural Households in South East Nigeria

Abstract

Household food insecurity remains a persistent and pressing social concern despite the economic gains that Nigeria has made over the years.The study focused on identifying the perception of male and female headed households about food security; the gaps in calories supplied as well as factors that interact to influence food supply.Primary data was collected using the farming and rural systems approach to randomly select and interview 120 households but a subsection of the sample is the basis for this study. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the perceptions about food security and gaps in calories supplied. Two-stage Least Square regression and the General Linear Model were used to determine the factors that influence calorie supply to the households as well as the influence exacted by the interaction of those factors. The results showed that the definition of food security from the respondents points of view includes the taste, quality, quantity and specific food items available to the households and that these differ between male and female heads. Also quantitative and qualitative factors interact to affect the total calories supplied to the household. Cash transfers significantly influence calories available to Male Headed Households but not for Female Headed Households.