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    Drivers of household food availability in sub-Saharan Africa based on big data from small farms

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    Date
    2016
    Author
    Frelat, Romain
    López Ridaura, Santiago
    Giller, Ken E.
    Herrero, Mario T.
    Douxchamps, Sabine
    Djurfeldt, Agnes Andersson
    Erenstein, Olaf
    Henderson, Benjamin B.
    Kassie, Menale
    Paul, Birthe K.
    Rigolot, Cyrille
    Ritzema, Randall S.
    Rodríguez, Daniel
    Asten, Piet J.A. van
    Wijk, Mark T. van
    Type
    Journal Article
    Target Audience
    Scientists
    Metadata
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    Abstract/Description
    We calculated a simple indicator of food availability using data from 93 sites in 17 countries across contrasted agroecologies in sub- Saharan Africa (>13,000 farm households) and analyzed the drivers of variations in food availability. Crop production was the major source of energy, contributing 60% of food availability. The off-farm income contribution to food availability ranged from 12% for households without enough food available (18% of the total sample) to 27% for the 58% of households with sufficient food available. Using only three explanatory variables (household size, number of livestock, and land area), we were able to predict correctly the agricultural determined status of food availability for 72% of the households, but the relationships were strongly influenced by the degree of market access. Our analyses suggest that targeting poverty through improving market access and off-farm opportunities is a better strategy to increase food security than focusing on agricultural production and closing yield gaps. This calls for multisectoral policy harmonization, incentives, and diversification of employment sources rather than a singular focus on agricultural development. Recognizing and understanding diversity among smallholder farm households in sub-Saharan Africa is key for the design of policies that aim to improve food security.
     
    We calculated a simple indicator of food availability using data from 93 sites in 17 countries across contrasted agroecologies in sub- Saharan Africa (>13,000 farm households) and analyzed the drivers of variations in food availability. Crop production was the major source of energy, contributing 60% of food availability. The off-farm income contribution to food availability ranged from 12% for households without enough food available (18% of the total sample) to 27% for the 58% of households with sufficient food available. Using only three explanatory variables (household size, number of livestock, and land area), we were able to predict correctly the agricultural determined status of food availability for 72% of the households, but the relationships were strongly influenced by the degree of market access. Our analyses suggest that targeting poverty through improving market access and off-farm opportunities is a better strategy to increase food security than focusing on agricultural production and closing yield gaps. This calls for multisectoral policy harmonization, incentives, and diversification of employment sources rather than a singular focus on agricultural development. Recognizing and understanding diversity among smallholder farm households in sub-Saharan Africa is key for the design of policies that aim to improve food security.
     
    https://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1518384112
    Multi standard citation
    Permanent link to this item
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12478/742
    Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
    https://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1518384112
    Agrovoc Terms
    Food Security; Smallholders; Farmers; Agricultores; Yield Gap; Farme Size; Seguridad Alimentaria; Tamaño De La Finca; África Al Sur Del Sahara
    Regions
    Africa; Africa South Of Sahara
    Journals
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS)
    Collections
    • Journal and Journal Articles4835
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