Factors Influencing Food Security Status among Rural Households in Uganda

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue VI, June 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186

Factors Influencing Food Security Status among Rural Households in Uganda

Nuwatuhaire Benard, Andrew Ainomugisha

Kampala International University, Uganda

Abstract: – The study was carried out to determine the factors influencing food security status among rural households in Uganda. The data was collected from 206 respondents in rural households of Western and Northern Uganda. Quantitative and Qualitative data collection methods were used to deduct critical information for this study. Specifically survey method (questionnaires and interviews) was used. Secondary data helped to collect information from field work. SPSS was used in data analysis. Qualitative data was analyzed using general content analysis. The study revealed that the key factors that influenced food security were: Land Shortage with infertile soils because of over cultivation, use of hand hoes by majority of household, dominance of cash crops than food crops, big family size of seven and above people, lack of food storage as well as food preservation facilities, low prices of agricultural products, Socio-cultural beliefs such as gender as well as government promoting the growing of cash crops than food crops. The study recommended that there is need for Ugandan government to promote food crops more than cash crops(famine crops),establishing a crop seed multiplication unit to every district and sub-county, manufacturing low cost farm inputs especially agricultural tools and inputs, any government land which is underutilized should be identified and utilized for food production, establishment of research centers at lower local governments, law to ensure every household possess a food store/granary as well establishment of national food reserves, serious trainings through seminars, workshops and conferences on food utilization, food processing plants to produce processed food, infrastructure development, legalizing a number of children to be produced.

Key words: population, food availability, food accessibility, and food utilization.

I. INTRODUCTION

Uganda has the most favorable climate that can highly support agriculture (Ministry of Agriculture 2011) to ensure that almost all parts of the country have enough food (National advisory services report 2012), but there is acute malnutrition, hunger and famine (Oxfam 2016).It was therefore necessary to carry out this study and find out factors influencing food security status among rural households in Uganda

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