INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Thematic study on food insecurity and vulnerability in Nigeria
Oluyemisi Kuku-Shittu, Astrid Mathiassen, Amit Wadhwa,
Lucy Myles and Akeem Ajibola
NSSP Seminar Series, Feb 14, 2013
Introduction
A Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability
Analysis (CFSVA). Attempt to develop broad-based
national indicators on food security and vulnerability
of various segments of a population across regions.
Joint report with WFP
Data: Living Standards Measurement Study-
Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA).
• National bureau of statistics (NBS) and the World
Bank.
• Approx. 5000 respondents who are interviewed
every two years.
• This analysis relies on post-harvest data
Key Findings
Food insecurity and poverty are intricately linked
The poorest livelihoods are found in agriculture
Households that engage in agriculture and other
activities fare better than those in agriculture alone
The vulnerable and food insecure are mostly found
in rural areas and the North West and North East
regions of Nigeria
While most households in all regions and at all wealth levels purchase food, rural households and poorer households (by wealth and livelihood) also rely heavily on own food production.
Key Findings
Nigerians generally consume a starchy diet, but wealthier households are able to afford more nutrient rich foods (including animal based proteins) than poorer households.
Households protect vulnerable household members in terms of food allocations, although difficult tradeoffs may occur in poorer households.
Poor households engage in extreme coping
strategies to deal with food shortages
Dimensions of food security
Availability • Domestic production
• Commercial imports
• Reserves and food aid
Access • Household production
• Financial resources to
purchase food
• Food prices and
markets
• Existence of
formal/informal social
safety nets
Utilization • Care and feeding
practices
• Food preparation
• Intra-household
distribution
• Biological utilization of
food consumed
Food Security
Stability
What is food security?
“Food security exists when all people, at
all times, have physical, social, and
economic access to sufficient, safe and
nutritious food which meets their dietary
needs and food preferences for an active
and healthy life.”
– World Food Summit, 1996
Vulnerability
The probability of an acute decline in
access to food, or consumption, often in
reference to some critical value that
defines minimal values of human
wellbeing.
INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS
Food Consumption Score
The Food Consumption Score (FCS) is a composite score
based on dietary diversity, food frequency and the relative
nutritional importance of different food groups
The FCS serves as a proxy for current food security
The FCS is calculated by observing the frequency by which
households consume various food items over a seven day
recall period
Each food item is put into a category and the categories
are given a weight based on its relative nutritional value
The FCS was developed and extensively used by WFP in
food security assessments
Food Consumption Groups
Food consumption groups are created from the FCS based on
standard thresholds
A FCS of 21 is a minimum. A FCS below 21 assumes a household
does NOT to eat at least staple foods and vegetables on a daily
basis and is thus considered to have a poor diet.
A FCS between 21 and 35 reflects borderline food consumption. A
FCS of 35 assumes daily consumption of staple and vegetables
complemented by consumption of oil and pulses 4 days per week.
Food consumption group Standard threshold
Poor food consumption 0 – 21
Borderline food consumption 21.5 - 35
Acceptable food consumption >35.5
Wealth Index: A proxy indicator of household level wealth The wealth index is a composite index which attempts to measure
wealth without relying on income and expenditure data
The index is created by using a form of data reduction analysis called Principle Component Analysis (PCA)
A number of variables are used collectively to describe the wealth of a household. In Nigeria, 16 variables were used to construct the wealth index
After creating the index, the households are ranked and placed in quintiles to describe wealth groups within the population
Assets Households amenities
• TV
• Mobile phone
• Iron / sewing machine
• Refrigerator / stove
• Electricity generator
• Car
• Sofa / chairs / table
• Improved walls / roof / floor
• Improved drinking water
• Improved sanitation
• Electricity
• Cooking fuel
Distribution of households with unimproved amenities
19
29
32
36
42
44
48
69
85
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
roof
floor
cell phone
drinking water
toilet
electricity
outer wall
cooking fuel
refuse disposal
Livelihood groups
Due to the lack of proper income data we rely on time use data to assign household livelihood groups.
Household members reports time spent in income generating activities. Total time spent in each activity is added for all household members.
We assign the household to a livelihood group according to the proportion of time spent in the income generating activities.
Description of livelihood profiles
Livelihood group Definition
Subsistence farmer, fisherman or hunter only All time use in subsistence activities only
Mixed crop or cash crops only All time use in agricultural activities only
Mainly agriculture with other activities
More than 50 percent of time in agriculture, with other activities
Mainly industrial laborer
More than 50 percent of time use as an industry employee
Mainly small business (craftsman) Mainly self employed artisans and craftsmen
Mainly business/commerce
Mainly managing a business, involved in sales, and other larger commercial activities
Mainly livestock/poultry More than 50 percent of time use in animal husbandry
Mainly professionals
Salaried workers in public or private sector with professional qualifications.
Mainly service laborers
More than 50 percent of time use in provision of services that require no rigorous qualification
Agricultural & non agricultural mixed activities
Carries out a variety of livelihood activities in agriculture and other sectors
Non agricultural mixed activities
Carries out a variety of activities in the non-agricultural sector.
Distribution of total households in each livelihood group
3.8
15.2
13.3
7.7
5.0
21.4
1.6
11.3 12.3
4.3 4.0
0
5
10
15
20
25Perc
ent
INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
DEMOGRAPHICS
Household characteristics
Household head (%) Basic literacy(%)
male household head spouse
Zone
North central 89 56 33
North east 97 50 29
North West 98 62 45
South East 71 61 68
South South 77 72 75
South West 79 73 73
Sector
Urban 82 78 72
Rural 86 55 42
On average about half of the household members are dependents (children or elderly)
9
11
26
46
8
8
10
23
52
6
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
< 3 years
3-5 years
6-14 years
15-59 years
60+ years
female
male
Health: Breastfeeding and supplementation.
Percentage of children exclusively breast fed for first six months
Percentage of children given vitamin A supplementation
Wealth quintile
Poorest 11 37
Poorer 11 38
Moderate 15 56
Wealthier 14 64
Wealthiest 21 74
Health: Access to unimproved amenities by geographic region
50
48
39
34
24
27
20
45
70
50
34
33
39
36
26
52
96
96
93
87
87
65
67
97
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
North central
North east
North west
South east
South south
South west
Urban
RuralRegio
nZone
refuse disposal
toilet
drinking water
INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
FOOD SECURITY AND VULNERABILITY INDICATORS
INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
WHICH GROUPS ARE MOST VULNERABLE?
Geographic distribution of wealth
25.5
36.2
38.2
8.9
6.4
9.4
31.5
25.6
30.4
30.5
16.3
13.4
9.8
7.7
28.1
21.1
17.8
18.4
26.4
21.0
17.4
20.4
19.8
19.1
10.9
9.2
25.4
27.7
25.5
30.1
13.3
8.7
23.1
31.5
37.9
39.4
7.2
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
North Central
North East
North West
South East
South South
South West
Urban
Rural
Re
gio
nSe
cto
r
poorest poorer moderate wealthier wealthiest
Poorest livelihood groups by sector
2
8
10
98
92
90
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Mainly livestock production
Subsistence farmer, fisher, hunter
Mixed crop or cash crops farmer
urban
rural
Vulnerability: High food expenditures
48%
27%
62%
50%
64%
73%
39% 41%
29%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Na
tio
nal
Urb
an
Ru
ral
No
rth
Cen
tral
No
rth
Eas
t
No
rth
Wes
t
So
uth
Eas
t
So
uth
So
uth
So
uth
Wes
t
Sector Zone
Food expenditure share >75% by region
Vulnerability: High Food expenditures by livelihood group
71 66
61
40 41
36
78
29 34
54
19
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Food Sources by geographic area
58
59
66
67
70
72
73
62
14
11
16
14
13
19
20
12
26
28
18
17
14
5
4
24
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
North central
North east
North west
South east
South south
South west
Urban
Rural
Regio
nSect
or
Purchased
Away from home
Own production
Food sources by wealth quintile
• Poorer households rely more on own production, but purchased food is the most important category for in all wealth groups
56
62
67
72
75
10
12
15
18
20
31
24
15
8
4
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Poorest
Poorer
Moderate
Wealthier
Wealthiest
Purchased
Away from home
Own production
Food sources by livelihood group
50
59
61
69
70
71
55
70
72
61
76
10
8
10
20
20
17
8
18
20
12
20
37
30
26
10
8
9
36
9
7
24
3
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Subsistence farmer, fisher, hunter
Mixed crop or cash crops farmer
Mainly agriculture with other activities
Mainly industrial laborer
Mainly self-employed artisans
Mainly business/commerce
Mainly livestock production
Mainly professional
Mainly service laborer
Mixed activities
Non-agricultural mixed activities
Purchased
Away from home
Own production
INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
FOOD CONSUMPTION AND FOOD DEFICIT COPING STRATEGIES
Mean number of days per week food item is consumed at home
6.5
6.5
6.7
6.7
6.1
6.7
6.3
6.4
6.6
2.9
3.0
3.8
2.9
2.3
2.8
2.9
3.1
2.9
4.9
5.1
5.4
5.5
4.1
4.9
4.5
4.9
5.0
3.7
3.9
3.1
2.3
3.8
5.0
4.2
4.3
3.4
2.5
2.6
3.8
3.4
2.5
2.4
5.4
5.7
5.5
5.9
4.9
5.7
4.8
5.3
5.4
0 10 20 30
National
North Central
North East
North West
South East
South South
South West
Urban
RuralR
egi
on
Sect
or
cereals and tubers
pulses
vegetables
fruit
meat and fish
milk
sugar
oil
Days
Frequency food item is consumed by wealth quintile-starches
11
12
13
16
19
88
86
85
82
80
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Poorest
Poorer
Moderate
Wealthier
Wealthiest
rarely (0-2 times per week) sometimes (3-5 times per week) frequently (6-7 times per week)
Frequency food item is consumed by wealth quintile- animal proteins
37
25
15
12
8
27
29
27
19
20
36
46
59
69
72
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Poorest
Poorer
Moderate
Wealthier
Wealthiest
rarely (0-2 times per week) sometimes (3-5 times per week) frequently (6-7 times per week)
Food consumption categories by wealth quintile
9
5
5
4
2
20
15
12
14
13
71
80
82
82
85
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Poorest
Poorer
Moderate
Wealthier
Wealthiest
Wealth q
uin
tile
Poor
Borderline
Acceptable
Intrahousehold food allocations: Household members with least diverse diet
Men Women Children
Poorest
47 26 27
Poorer
43 21 36
Moderate
69 18 13
Wealthier
72 17 11
Wealthiest
79 12 8
Causes of food shortages
6
2
5
5
4
16
21
36
3
7
10
14
16
8
5
29
0 10 20 30 40
Civil unrest/riots
Crop pest damage
Drought
Small land size
Lack of farm inputs
Other reasons
Financial hardship
High food prices
Rural
Urban
Most frequent coping strategies for dealing with food shortages
• Poorer households use more severe coping strategies
0 2 4 6 8 10
Poorest
Poorer
Moderate
Wealthier
Wealthiest
Go a whole day and night without
eating anything
Go to sleep at night hungry because
there is not enough food
Have no food of any kind in your
household
Borrow food, or rely on help from a
friend or relative
Recommendations
Better funding for data collection efforts
Culturally appropriate interventions to bridge gender gap
in education
Targeted food support for low income breastfeeding
women
Local and State government need to do better in
providing water and sanitation amenities
Improved access to animal proteins
Maximum support for ATA to increase opportunities and
incomes for poor rural farmers.
INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
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