An analysis of the contribution of small grain production to food security among smallholder farmers in the semi-arid areas of Mudzi District in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Food security status of households is of concern to everyone in the country. Especially in this era of severe droughts were the production of small grains like sorghum which are tolerant to climate change is being encouraged thus promoted the research which is an analyses of the contribution of small grain production to food security and dietary diversity among smallholder farmers in the semi-arid areas of Mudzi district in Zimbabwe. The main aim of this research is to determine the adoption status and challenges faced by smallholder sorghum producers,o perform a comparative analysis of the food security status in terms of HDD and HFIA of sorghum producers and non-producers,to investigate the socioeconomic factors contributing to household dietary diversity among smallholder farmers and analyse the socioeconomic determinants of adoption of sorghum production among smallholder farmers in Mudzi..The questionnaire was used as the main tool to gather data from households in selected ward within the districts. Questionnaires were administered through face-to-face interviews. The total sample size was 100. The regression model was used to analyze data. Of the sample under study only twelve percent is not growing sorghum and household size of non-producers tend to be smaller as compared to household size of producers. Low yields was mentioned most as constraint in sorghum production, followed by gritty in the grain. HDDS score appears to be slightly higher for sorghum producers compared to non-sorghum producers. Meaning sorghum producers experience slightly lower chances of being food insecure. At a significant level of 0.05 there was no statistically significant differences between HDDS and HFIAS of sorghum producers and non- producers. This concluded that food security is influenced by various factors other than sorghum production. These factors include household size, land access, access to remittances, education of household head.The findings demonstrate that the age, educational attainment, and prior experience of the head of the household in independent farming all favourable impact household food security. Food insecurity is less common in households headed by older adults and those with more educated adults. Improved food security is also facilitated by remittances and information access. One important aspect that stands out is education. Research shows that household heads with greater levels of education had better dietary diversity and lower levels of food insecurity. Families with a head who has completed secondary or university school have lower levels of food insecurity and higher scores for dietary diversity. The results also indicate that larger households face greater food insecurity and have lower dietary diversity. The older the household head is the less food insecure the household is. Households with large areas under crop are less food insecure as they have more harvest. Households with more members below 16 tend to be more food insecurity. Credit availability and communication infrastructure has no bearing on the diversity of nutrition. Participating in mobile agriculture and delivery of extension services are positively correlated with dietary diversity. Household size has a positive correlation with production of sorghum. Middle aged households tend to produce sorghum as compared to families with older and younger people. Household with average number of five are the group involved in sorghum production. Another finding is that the household with bigger plots and bigger families are involved in sorghum production. Experienced farmers tend to produce sorghum as compared to farmers with less years in farming. Key words: food security, HDDS, HFIAS, sorghum. vi