The effect of income diversification on household food security status among small-scale rural farmers in the Alfred Nzo District Municipality, South Africa

The study investigated the determinants of household income diversification and its effect on food security status among small-scale rural farmers in the Alfred Nzo District Municipality (ANDM). A cross-sectional descriptive research design was adopted in the study. A systematic random sampling method and structured questionnaire were utilized to collect data from 268 small-scale farmers in the ANDM. The data collection started from the first week of August to 30 September 2022. Stata version 14.0 was employed to analyse the factors influencing household income diversification, using a Tobit regression model. The gender of the household head, access to extension services, access to credit, access to social security grants, access to remittances, household head employment status, and household size were found to be the key determinants of household income diversification in the study area. The effect of household income diversification on food security was examined using the Multinational Logit regression model. The study found that the household income diversification reduces the likelihood of mild, moderate, and severe food insecurity. These findings indicate that households that diversified their sources of income had higher chances of being food secure. Workshops and access to finance are critical interventions to strengthen household resilience and food security.