Determinants of Food Insecurity in Rural Areas in Mali

The objective of this study is to identify the determinants of households’ food insecurity in rural areas in Mali, ranked among the most exposed to this phenomenon. The study used data from the national food security and nutritional survey in March 2016. The estimation of the econometric logit model by the maximum likelihood method revealed that regional location, age of household head, household size, level of education of the household head, welfare index and incomes’ diversification sources are the main determinants of households’ food insecurity in a rural area in Mali. The analysis shows that age of household head, size of household and practical of recession cropping affect positively food insecurity while the educational level of household head, welfare index and incomes ’diversification sources affect negatively food insecurity. These determinants are pillars on which policy maker might rely to reduce food insecurity. Therefore, it is desirable for government to orientate more the food insecurity fight programs towards the most affected regions, to prioritize households head with advanced age and those whose size is high, and promote recession cropping during the food insecurity fight plan, improve household education level, promote the household’s welfare and sensitize the households to diversify the sources of their income.