Prevalence Of Insecurity On Rural Farming Households’ Food Security In Chikun And Kajuru Local Government Areas Of Kaduna State, Nigeria

This research analyzed insecurity and its effect on rural farming households’ food security in Chikun and Kajuru Local Government Areas of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The study purposively selected Chikun and Kajuru LGA due to the predominance of insecurity in the area, and then employed a multi-stage sampling method in selecting three wards in each village. Data collection involved administering questionnaires to 369 rural farming households primarily involved in crop production. Analytical tools such as descriptive statistics, Tobit regression analysis, and coping strategies use index (CSUI) were utilized. The findings indicated that 42.3% of the respondents had primary education with the mean household size of 8 individuals. About 69.9% of the surveyed individuals pursued farming as their primary occupation and 96.2% were affiliated with a cooperative society. Many farming households. (54.5%) were able to access credit amounts of less than ₦50,001 (60.2%). Approximately 68.3% of the farming households did not receive any aid from their children or relatives outside the community while household heads fall sick occasionally (63.1%), their family members had also experienced occasional illnesses (50.7%). Cereals (55.8%) were consumed the most among the farming households. About 39.8% had encountered various forms of insecurity in the study area for about 4 to 6 years of which banditry accounted for approximately 60.2% and According to the farming households, governmental neglect (96.5%) has left the rural regions vulnerable to security threats. Insecurity had the most substantial effect on their farming activities in terms of labour availability, with a weighted average of 3.19. Social (3.55), psychological (3.49), material (3.44) and financial (3.36) losses were experienced by the rural farming households. The coping strategies during insecurity included purchasing food from the market (3.46), eating less preferred food (3.26), relocating/migrating to urban areas or safer regions (3.12) and borrowing money or food from friends or relatives (3.10). Factors such as age, total crop income and level of education significantly influenced the choice of coping strategy at a 1% significance level, while belonging to a farmer's group or association lodged it at a 5% level and household size at a 10% level of significance.