Household Food Access Insecurity along the Urban-Rural Continuum in Morogoro and Iringa, Tanzania

Abstract

The overall objective of this paper was to assess household food access insecurity along the urban-rural continuum of Morogoro and Iringa towns in Tanzania. The specific objectives were to: (1) measure the extent of household food access insecurity along the urban-rural continuum, and (2) identify the socio-economic characteristics associated with the household food access insecurity. The study was cross-sectional in design whereby a sample of 300 households was selected using a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based simple random sampling procedure. The primary data were collected through interview schedules using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) tool. The data were analysed descriptively and inferentially using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Ordinal logistic regression was used to determine the influence of some household socio-economic characteristics on the household food access security. Generally, the results showed that the households that are located in the urban settings are more likely to be food access secure than the households situated in peri-urban and rural settings (p ≤ 0.001). Other factors that had statistical significant effect on the household food access security include age and education level attained by household head, and non-farming activities. It was concluded that household food access insecurity is a widespread phenomenon along the continuum although it is more prevalent in rural as compared to urban settings. Thus, it is recommended that more opportunities for non-farming income generating activities engagements be created throughout the continuum to support the households that rely entirely on farming.

Keywords: household food access insecurity, urban-rural continuum, socio-economic characteristics, Morogoro and Iringa, Tanzania.