Impact of value chain participation on household food insecurity among smallholder vegetable farmers in Swayimane KwaZulu-Natal

Analysing the contribution of trees and green spaces to household nutrition security in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Food from trees and green spaces can diversify diets and enhance food and nutrition security for households. However, sourcing food from these areas often receives little attention in addressing nutrition issues. This study assessed the contribution of trees and green spaces to household food consumption and nutrition in the eThekwini Municipal Area (EMA) located in KwaZulu-Natal South Africa, focusing on the Osindisweni and Maphephetheni communities, which are biologically diverse and face high poverty, unemployment, and food insecurity. Using stratified random sampling, 280 households were selected to complete questionnaires. Additionally, two Focus Group Discussions (FDG's) and key informant interviews were conducted with community members and municipal representatives. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Household Food Consumption Score (FCS), Ordered Logistic Regression and a thematic analysis was done to analyse responses from Focus Group Discussions. The results showed that 93.6% of households consumed acceptable diets, with only 5.0% in the borderline and 1.4% in the poor categories. Specifically, Osindisweni and Maphephetheni households reported 93.3% and 93.7% acceptable diets, respectively. Ordered logistic regression indicated that both cultivated and uncultivated green spaces, household size, number of dependants, as well as access to training, agricultural assistance, extension, and advisory services negatively correlated with nutrition security. While communities recognized the contributions of trees and green spaces, they believed that these sources alone were insufficient. It is concluded that consumption of products from trees and green spaces likely did not improve the nutrition security of the households. To improve household nutrition security in eThekwini, it is vital to foster collaboration among stakeholders, including nutritionists and extension agents. Strengthening the knowledge of extension officers regarding the harvesting and consumption of food from trees and green spaces is crucial for disseminating effective guidance to households, thereby enhancing nutrition outcomes.

Gender differentials on productivity of rice farmers in south western Nigeria: An Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition approach

Gender differences in productivity are one of the major obstacles impeding the development of agriculture in Africa and Nigerian particularly. With the Oaxaca-Blinder (OB) and exogenous switching treatment regression (ESTER) models, this study investigates the causes of the productivity differences among 360 sampled rice farmers in Nigeria as well as gender inequality in agricultural productivity. The findings showed that there is an inequalities between men and women, which contributes to a gender productivity gap of almost 29 % in favour of men. As a result, plots managed by women are 29 % less productive than plots handled by men. The analysis of the factors influencing gender variations in production reveals that the endowment component, which accounts for 15 % of the productivity gap, is significantly influenced by marital status, education, farm size, and access to market information. Similarly, the ESTER results show that the rice yield of FHHs would have decreased by 25.41 kg/ha (a 1.02 % reduction) if they had been assigned the same returns to the observed features of MHHs. This difference is significant at the 1 % level. Thus, the findings imply that the FHHs are not at a yield disadvantage when compared to the MHHs. Therefore, it can be said that there are gender productivity disparities in the Nigerian agricultural industry. As such, policy interventions aimed at empowering women must take these disparities into consideration as well as the causes that contribute to them. Overall, the results demonstrate that although policymakers and their development partners can use improved technologies to increase MHH and FHH yields, reducing the difference in market linkages is necessary to close the gender gap in rice productivity and provide FHHs with equal access to the market.