Determinants of Food Security Status Among Vegetable Women Producers in North-West, Nigeria

This work investigated food security status among vegetable women producers in North West, Nigeria. Primary data were used based on a well-organized questionnaire. The data were evaluated using descriptive statistics, Tobit regression model, food security index, and principal component model. The outcome shows that averagely the age, household size, and farm size approximates 48 years, 9, and 0.75 ha respectively. A household is regarded as food secure if it achieves at least 2/3 of the MPCFE (Mean per Capital Consumption Food Expenditure) per month. Therefore, the vegetable women producers that spent at least N 2,125.51 (1USD =N 1,040) on food per month were grouped as food secure, and those that spent less than this figure were grouped as food insecure. This denotes that the vegetable women producer to be regarded as food secure will spend above N 70.85 on food per day. Based on the headcount ratio, about 54% of vegetable women producers had their per capital food expenditure equal or above N 2,125.51, while 46% of them had their per capital food expenditure below N 2,125.51. The educational level, age, household size, income from vegetable farming off farm income and access to credit were different significantly from zero in deciding the food security status of vegetable women producers. The major challenges faced by vegetable women producers include lack of improved seeds (1st), lack of credit (2nd), and lack of access to land (3rd). Credit should be made available at single digit interest rate to enhance productivity, and increase food security