Food Security Status Among Cooperative and Non Cooperative Farming Households in Rural Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Enabling policy environment that encourages farmers’ cooperative groups towards enhancing their standard of living is not fully in place. Empirical evidence that could sensitise policy makers as well as farmers in this direction is therefore crucial. In comparative terms, food insecurity status of farming households who were members of cooperative society and those who were not was examined in this study. Using a well-structured questionnaire and 2-stage sampling techniques, primary data on
household socio-economic and demographic characteristics as well as the quantity consumed per week of locally available food groups were collected from 55 cooperative farming households and 53 non cooperative farming households in Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, food security index, and probit model. Using food security index measured based on daily energy level of 2450kcalories, the food security line (Z) for all the farming households
surveyed, co-operator and non-co-operators, was estimated at ?141.0308 per day per adult equivalent (equivalent to ?4,231.14 per month per adult). While 76.4% of the sampled cooperative farming households were food secure, only 56.6% of the non-cooperative farming households were food secure. Whereas age and household size were common significant determinants of food security among both cooperative and non cooperative farming households, education (0.0034) and monthly income (0.0043)
were only significant for the co-operators. It is concluded that respondents belonging to cooperatives were relatively more food secured than non co-operators. It is therefore recommended that farmers be encouraged to form and join cooperative society and that cooperative activities should be assisted especially at their formative stage as this can serve as a hub to meeting the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of a well-informed society, reducing poverty by half and ending hunger.