Published in Scientific Papers. Series "Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and rural development", Vol. 22 ISSUE 4
Written by Folasade O. OKE, Dare AKERELE

Food insecurity remains a challenge in the developing regions of the world and in particular among rural folks whose main source of livelihood is from farming and thus time bound. The study through primary data from 120 cassava farming households examined how income diversification strategies could improve food security. Descriptive statistics, USDA food security scale and logit regression model were employed for the analysis. 42.5% were food secure while 57.5% were food insecure. 'Cassava income + agricultural incomes’ (CA); 'Cassava income + non-agricultural incomes’ (CN) and 'Cassava income + both agricultural and non-agricultural incomes’ (CAN) were the diversification strategies identified. Income diversification strategies and increased farm size exerted significant positive influence on household food security. Promoting income diversification into other agricultural enterprises (beyond cassava production) and non-agricultural businesses is therefore vital to enhancing household food security. Efforts to transform cassava farmers into large scale commercial producers will also enhance food security substantially.

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