DETERMINANTS OF FOOD SECURITY STATUS OF FISHING HOUSEHOLDS ALONG KAINJI DAM, NIGERIA

The study determined the food security Status of fishing households along Kainji Dam, Nigeria.
There is a persistent food insecurity experienced by fishing households along Kainji Dam
despite their engagement in fishery activities. This study identified the key socio-economic and
environmental factors influencing their food security status. Multi-stage and proportionate
sampling techniques were used to select 460 respondents from the study area. Both descriptive
and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. The results of the study revealed that the
majority of respondents (51.3%) were within the age range of 29–41 years, with a mean age of
approximately 35 years, indicating that the fishing population comprised predominantly middle￾aged and economically active individuals. In terms of marital status, 87.0% of the respondents
were married, with an average household size of about 9 persons, reflecting the prevalence of
large family units among fishing households. The Logit regression estimates of the determinants
of food security status of fishers shows that the coefficients with respect to household size
Access to credit (0.063), age of fishers (1.647), fishing experience (0.0009), livelihood
diversification (0.060), and income from fishing (1.848) were all statistically significant at the
1% level, indicating their strong influence on the food security status of fishing households.
Access to extension services (0.713) was also significant at the 5% level, suggesting that
extension contact plays a moderate but meaningful role in enhancing household food security.
In conclusion, the study showed that, artisanal fisheries is an important livelihood activity in the
lives of the fishers as it enhances food security among the fishers along the dam and most of the
fishers were middle-aged and economically active individuals, predominantly married and
living in relatively large households with low levels of formal education. The study therefore
recommended that government should give financial assistance and provide subsidized
improved fishing and processing inputs to enable them to seamlessly undertake their fishing
activities aimed at improved food security. Fishers should form cooperative societies to access
credit, markets, and modern fishing technologies. Establishing community-based value addition
and processing centers through public–private partnerships will empower fishers to increase
income, reduce post-harvest losses, and strengthen long-term food security.