THE EFFECT OF FLOODING ON FOOD SECURITY OF HOUSEHOLDS IN RURAL COMMUNITIES OF DELTA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study was conducted to assess the effects of flooding on food security of households in rural communities of Delta State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to collect data from 160 respondents through the use of questionnaire. The data collected were analyzed using mean, frequency, percentage, likert scale, multiple regression and binary probit models. The result indicated that the majority (71.6%) of the farmers had farming experience of 1–14 years and had no contact with an extension agent. The mean result (mean = 2.88) showed that farmers sourced food from the wild as coping strategies during floods. The result showed that use of saving (mean = 3.26), reliance on stored foods (mean = 3.09), change in livelihood (mean = 3.07), were coping strategies adopted by farmers during floods in the study area. The result showed that majority of the respondents had low income which connoted food insecurity. The result showed that education, income level, contact with extension agent and access to credit, affected food security. There was a statistically significant relationship between flooding and food security among rural households. Based on the findings, it was recommended that Governments and local authorities should establish early warning systems and improve flood preparedness measures, such as building flood-resistant infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and housing, to reduce destruction during floods. Encouraging the construction of canals and raising ground levels, as identified coping strategies, should be expanded to all farmers.