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Agriculture in rural Nigeria is labour-intensive. Thus, the much-desired transition from food insecurity to food security by households-requires growth in labour productivity. Labour productivity growth and its effect among other factors on food security transitions of maize farming households in rural Nigeria were assessed. Food insecurity indices were constructed using the second and third waves of data from the General Household Survey-Panel (2012 and 2015), and a probabilistic model was specified. The analytical tools used were descriptive statistics, Partial factor (labour) productivity, Foster-Greer-Thorbecke Model, Markov chain model, Tobit, and Multinomial Logit Regression Models. Labour productivity increased between the two periods although labour productivity growth was very low. Labour productivity growth negatively and significantly affected the transition into food security and being chronically food insecure. Thus, a boost for labour productivity growth should be targeted as a safetynet, especially for the food insecure and households vulnerable to food insecurity.

Hunger mitigation in the United States has traditionally blended a variety of “emergency resources,” from both the public and private sectors, yet the long-term use of these programs, food pantries in particular, is becoming commonplace. Still, there is little information on long-term (24+ months) pantry use. This article examines the differences, particularly in food security status and use of federal support programs, between traditional, short-term emergency pantry users and an emerging population of long-term users. We found that there are 2 distinct groups of long-term users based on frequency of use, prolonged (infrequent) and persistent (frequent), and that each of these groups has distinct vulnerability to food insecurity as well as mitigation strategies for dealing with food insecurity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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A measure of frequent or persistent food insecurity is calculated from responses to follow-up questions in the Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement that asked respondents how often each indicator or food insecurity occurred. Cross-classification of households by the Frequent Food Insecurity Scale and the standard “ever-during-the-year” scale provides a richer picture of the prevalence of various temporal patterns of food insecurity than can be provided by the current standard measures. Determinants of frequent or persistent food insecurity are found to differ somewhat from the determinants of food insecurity at any time during the year. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Food aid is no longer the only, or even the dominant, response to widespread food insecurity. Donors, governments, NGOs and recipient communities exhibit rapidly growing interest in and experimentation with cash-based alternatives, both in the form of direct cash distribution to food insecure persons, and of local or regional purchase of food using cash provided to operational agencies by donors. But humanitarian assistance and development communities lack a systematic, field-tested framework for choosing among food- and/or cash-based responses to food insecurity. This paper outlines the rationale for “response analysis” and introduces a new, field-tested, systematic approach to this emergent activity. The Market Information and Food Insecurity Response Analysis (MIFIRA) framework provides a logically sequenced set of questions, and corresponding analytical tools to help operational agencies anticipate the likely impact of alternative (food- and/or cash-based) responses and thereby identify the response that best fits a given food insecurity context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Evidence on the differential impacts of the global food crisis as it translates into chronic food insecurity locally is essential to design food security interventions targeting the most vulnerable population groups. There are no studies on the extent of chronic food insecurity or its predictors among adolescents in developing countries. In the context of increased food prices in Ethiopia, we hypothesized that adolescents in low income urban households are more likely to suffer from chronic food insecurity than those in the rural areas who may have direct access to agricultural products. Methods This report is based on data from the first two rounds of the Jimma Longitudinal Family Survey of Youth (JLFSY). Both adolescents and households were selected using a stratified random sampling method. A total of 1911 adolescents aged 13-17 years were interviewed on their personal experiences of food insecurity both at baseline and at year two. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to compare chronic adolescent food insecurity by household income, household food insecurity, and socio-demographic variables after one year of follow-up. Results Overall, 20.5% of adolescents were food insecure in the first round survey, while the proportion of adolescents with food insecurity increased to 48.4% one year later. During the one year follow up period, more than half (54.8%) of the youth encountered transient food insecurity – that is, either during the first or the second round survey. During the follow up period, 14.0% of adolescents had chronic food insecurity (i.e. were food insecure at both rounds). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that adolescents in the urban households with low (OR = 1.69, P = 0.008) and middle (OR = 1.80, P = 0.003) income tertiles were nearly twice as likely to suffer from chronic food insecurity compared with those in high income tertile, while this was not the case in rural and semi-urban households. Female sex of adolescents (P Conclusions In the context of increased food prices, household income is an independent predictor of chronic food insecurity only among adolescents in the low income, urban households. Female gender, educational status of primary or less and being a member of households with high dependency ratio were independent predictors of chronic food insecurity in urban, semi-urban, and rural areas. The fact that the prevalence of chronic food insecurity increased among adolescents who are members of chronically food insecure urban households as income tertiles decreased suggests that the resilience of buffering is eroded when purchasing power diminishes and food resources are dwindling. Food security interventions should target urban low income households to reduce the level of chronic food insecurity and its consequences.