Perceived Effect of Dry Season Farming on Household Food Security in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State

Abstract

Some farm households engage in dry season farming to reduce the problem of food deficit due to low access to food and low income from agriculture. Coping strategy and daily calorie intake of farm households used to determine the level of food security is often subject to bias, thus determining the farmers’ perceived level of food security becomes imperative. This study was therefore conducted with main objective of assessing the perceived effects of dry season farming on household food security in Goronyo Local Government Area (LGA) of Sokoto State. A sample of 100 farmers was used. Data were obtained with the use of an interview schedule. Descriptive (frequencies and percentages) and inferential (Chi-square analysis) statistics were used to analyze the data. Findings indicated that the entire farmers were male; majority of whom were in their economically active age group of less than 50 years, married (73.0%), with no formal education (83.0%). Farming was their major occupation (94.0%), to which they devoted 1-5 hectares (91.0%) of their personal land (69.0%) for dry season farming. They cultivated mainly rice (76.0%) during the season and perceived that they were food secured (85.0%). They reported that dry season farming improved their standard of living (= 4.26), served as a source of income (= 3.84) and lowered their food insecurity level (= 3.65), among others.  Result of the Chi-square analysis indicated that a significant relationship between educational attainment of the farmers and their perceived level of food security (x2 = 0.003 < P value = 47.69). It was concluded that dry season farmers in Goronyo LGA of Sokoto State believed that dry season farming had a positive effect on their household food security.