Household Coping Strategies and the Extent of Vulnerability to Food Insecurity: Lessons from Yam Farmers in Ekiti State, Nigeria

The study analysed the extent of vulnerability to food insecurity and household coping mechanisms among yam farmers in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Cross-sectional data were used with a 360-sample size. Multinomial logit model (MNL) and Feasible Generalized Least Square method (FGLS) were employed for the data analysis. The results of the FGLS model showed that 49.3% of the households in the study area enjoyed a stable level of food security, being food secure and low vulnerability to food insecurity. However, 30.23% of the population were undernourished and highly vulnerable; they are considered chronically food-insecure households. However, the study revealed that 11.01% of the food secure households may be food insecure in the future, if necessary, attention and intervention are not given by both households and the government. Again, 9.4% of the households that are currently experiencing food shortages may bounce back in the future. The findings of MNL revealed that the age of the household head, main occupation, household size, land size, net household income, and membership in a cooperative society was the main significant factors in yam farming households' decision to use coping strategies. As a result, it is recommended that leveraging the potential role of coping mechanisms already used by households during food shortages to reduce food insecurity should be considered and implemented as policy options.