Determinants of Food Security Status among Irrigated Vegetable Farmers in Northern Agricultural Zone of Bauchi State, Nigeria Determinants of Food Security Status among Irrigated Vegetable Farmers in Northern Agricultural Zone of Bauchi State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined factors influencing food security status of irrigated vegetable farmers and price trend of vegetables in Northern Agricultural Zone of Bauchi State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was adopted where 360 framers were randomly selected for the study. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics as well as binary logistic model. The result reveals that average quantity produced per hectare of tomato, sweat pepper, and onion was about 227 baskets (6810 kg), 185 bags (7400 kg), and 168 bags (18480 kg), respectively. The net income was N187,245.00 ($520.00), N145,114.00 ($403.00), and N330,761.00 ($919.00) per hectare, for the respective vegetable crops. The result on binary logistic model indicates that the quantity of vegetable produced was found to be positively related with farmers food security status and statistically significant at P = 0.001. Monthly income had a positive odds ratio (2.214) and statistically significant at P = 0.000. The result also reveals that age was significant (P = 0.014) and positively related with a food security status of the farmers with the odds ratio of 0.943. The pseudo R2 was found to be 0.481, implying that about 48% of variation in the dependent variable is explained by independent factors included in the model. The result on price trend analysis indicates that seasonal variations occur in vegetable prices, for several reasons such as demand and supply factors. Thus, the study recommends that farmers should be provided with adequate information concerning prices, supply, and demand, especially at the local level. Farmers should be encouraged to adopt improved technologies and new farming practices to boost output. In addition, farmers should be encouraged to diversify the source of income to have more funds to purchase other foodstuffs that they could not producing.