Pantnagar Journal of Research

Abstract

In Nigeria, there is growing interest in establishing sustainable food security, and much effort has gone into identifying an effective mechanism for coordinating the efforts of thousands of small-scale farmers to ensure food security. The goal of the study was to evaluate the effect of agricultural cooperative societies on the level of food security among cassava farmers' households in central agricultural zone of Delta State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling method was used to select 180 respondents. The information gathered was analyzed using descriptive statistics, the FGT food security index, and a binary logistic model. Only 42% of non-cooperative farming households were food secure, compared to 66% of cooperative farming households. The food insecurity incidence (0.58), depth (0.21), and severity (0.10) for the non-cooperative farmers were higher than that of the cooperative farming households (0.34, 0.11, and 0.04 respectively). Incidence of food insecurity was high among household heads within the age bracket of 41-50 years (76%) for the non-members and 51-60 years (47%) for the members. Additionally, households headed by men, as well as those with large families and low incomes, were most significantly affected by food insecurity. Furthermore, the age of the household head, household size, cooperative membership, and household income were significant determinants of food security. It is therefore concluded that cooperative societies significantly improve the food security status of their members, as the number of households with food security was higher in the case of members than the non-members. Farmers should be urged to become members of existing cooperative societies.