ANALYSIS OF FACTORS INFLUENCING FOOD SECURITY AMONG SMALL SCALE BROILER PRODUCERS IN SOUTHERN TARABA, TARABA STATE, NIGERIA: DAILY PER CALORIE INTAKE APPROACH

This study analyzed the determinants of food security Status among Small-scale Broiler Production in Southern Taraba State, Nigeria. Specific objectives were to describe the Socioeconomic Characteristics of broiler producers, estimate their food security status and analyze the determinants of food security among broiler producers. A multistage sampling technique was employed to collet primary data from 138 respondents using well structure questionnaires. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, estimate of food security index using daily per calorie intake approach and logistics regression model. The findings revealed that 64% of the respondents were male with a mean age of 35 years and average household size five people, up to 80% of the respondents had formal education with an average farming experience of nine years. Farm size was an average of 37 broilers reared with an average loan amount of ₦8,841. About 87% of the respondents had no extension visit and 81% were not member of cooperative organization. Furthermore, 76.8% of the respondents were food secure, 13% were marginally food insecure, 4.3% were moderately food insecure and 5.8% were severely food insecure. Determinants of food security status of the farmers showed that household size, farming experience and number of broiler produced were significant determinant of food security at 1% level of significance. Access to credit was significant at 5% while age of producer and level of education were significant at 10%. Number of broiler and access to credit had negative influence on food security. It was concluded that age, household size, level of education, farming experience, number of broilers and access to credit were determinants of broiler farmers’ food security in the area. It recommended that knowledge sharing among farmers should be encouraged to enhance productivity.