Food insecurity related to agricultural practices and household characteristics in rural communities of northeast Madagascar

James P. Herrera (), Jean Yves Rabezara, Ny Anjara Fifi Ravelomanantsoa, Miranda Metz, Courtni France, Ajilé Owens, Michelle Pender, Charles L. Nunn and Randall Kramer
Additional contact information
James P. Herrera: Duke University
Jean Yves Rabezara: Centre Universitaire de la Région SAVA
Ny Anjara Fifi Ravelomanantsoa: University of Antananarivo
Miranda Metz: Duke University
Courtni France: Duke University
Ajilé Owens: Duke University
Michelle Pender: Duke University
Charles L. Nunn: Duke University

Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, 2021, vol. 13, issue 6, No 4, 1393-1405

Abstract: Abstract Ending hunger and alleviating poverty are key goals for a sustainable future. Food security is a constant challenge for agrarian communities in low-income countries, especially in Madagascar. We investigated agricultural practices, household characteristics, and food security in northeast Madagascar. We tested whether agricultural practices, demographics, and socioeconomics in rural populations were related to food security. Over 70% of respondents reported times during the last three years during which food for the household was insufficient, and the most frequently reported cause was small land size (57%). The probability of food insecurity decreased with increasing vanilla yield, rice yield, and land size. There was an interaction effect between land size and household size; larger families with smaller land holdings had higher food insecurity, while larger families with larger land had lower food insecurity. Other socioeconomic and agricultural variables were not significantly related to food insecurity, including material wealth, education, crop diversity, and livestock ownership. Our results highlight the high levels of food insecurity in these communities and point to interventions that would alleviate food stress. In particular, because current crop and livestock diversity were low, agricultural diversification could improve outputs and mitigate food insecurity. Development of sustainable agricultural intensification, including improving rice and vanilla cultivation to raise yields on small land areas, would likely have positive impacts on food security and alleviating poverty. Increasing market access and off-farm income, as well as improving policies related to land tenure could also play valuable roles in mitigating challenges in food security.

Keywords: Agronomy; Agroforestry; Sustainable development goals; Demography; Conservation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12571-021-01179-3 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:ssefpa:v:13:y:2021:i:6:d:10.1007_s12571-021-01179-3

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... ulture/journal/12571

DOI: 10.1007/s12571-021-01179-3

Access Statistics for this article

Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food is currently edited by R.N. Strange

More articles in Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food from Springer, The International Society for Plant Pathology
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().