Authors:
Abbas, M.N.
, Ibrahim,A.
, Ali,S.
, Yakub,L.A.
and Ilyas,M.F. ,Nigeria |
Abstract:
During 2019-2020 there were global novel COVID-19 pandemic and Nigerian Government,
states and local levels had reported that social and economic shocks would be severe for citizens
amid inflation and rising consumer goods prices. The study examined rural household food
security and response to stressful Covid-19 Lockdown shocks in Kano State. Multistage
sampling technique was employed and sampled 125 households in the study area. Descriptive
statistic was employed in the analysis and result shows that majority (72%) were between 36 and
55 years, 86% were female household, 70.4% had 5 to 15 household members and had education
background. They engaged agriculture and agro-allied enterprises, 66.4% had enrolled with
cooperatives and predominantly produce and consumes millet, maize, sorghum, cowpeas
groundnut and sesame with average yield of 1070 kg/ha, 908 kg/ha, 797 kg/ha, 394 kg/ha, and
698 kg/ha, respectively. 22.4% were foods secure (3rd), 39.0% as less food insecure and 25.6%
moderately insecure. The respondents regular and passive incomes were from less than N1, 000
to many thousands (N50,001?) by income category and revealed food as the main consumption
expenditure. Result revealed that 28.8% of them reduced the quantity intake to survive the
period, 19.2% reduced meal intake frequency, and 13.6 % borrowed food among other
alternatives to survive the pandemic. Strategies adopted by household to cope with the economic
shocks included fear purchases, deferred payment, price inflation, higher interest banks loans,
low produce sale prices and lack of access to palliative measures from government and private
individuals. It was recommended that Government should exert more political will and sincerity
in order to have a significant impact on the population’s well-being, socioeconomic conditions of
the common man and supply chains must be kept functioning as crucial to food security noting
that deaths could be created due to food supply disruptions not a lack of food availability. |
