Drivers of household food availability in sub-Saharan Africa based on big data from small farms

We calculated a simple indicator of food availability using data from 93 sites in 17 countries across contrasted agroecologies in sub- Saharan Africa (>13,000 farm households) and analyzed the drivers of variations in food availability. Crop production was the major source of energy, contributing 60...

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Main Authors: Frelat, Romain, López Ridaura, Santiago, Giller, Kenneth E., Herrero, Mario, Douxchamps, Sabine, Djurfeldt, Agnes Andersson, Erenstein, Olaf, Henderson, Benjamin B., Kassie, Menale, Paul, Birthe K., Rigolot, Cyrille, Ritzema, Randall S., Rodríguez, Daniel, Asten, Piet J.A. van, Wijk, Mark T. van
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: National Academy of Sciences 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/70134
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author Frelat, Romain
López Ridaura, Santiago
Giller, Kenneth E.
Herrero, Mario
Douxchamps, Sabine
Djurfeldt, Agnes Andersson
Erenstein, Olaf
Henderson, Benjamin B.
Kassie, Menale
Paul, Birthe K.
Rigolot, Cyrille
Ritzema, Randall S.
Rodríguez, Daniel
Asten, Piet J.A. van
Wijk, Mark T. van
author_browse Asten, Piet J.A. van
Djurfeldt, Agnes Andersson
Douxchamps, Sabine
Erenstein, Olaf
Frelat, Romain
Giller, Kenneth E.
Henderson, Benjamin B.
Herrero, Mario
Kassie, Menale
López Ridaura, Santiago
Paul, Birthe K.
Rigolot, Cyrille
Ritzema, Randall S.
Rodríguez, Daniel
Wijk, Mark T. van
author_facet Frelat, Romain
López Ridaura, Santiago
Giller, Kenneth E.
Herrero, Mario
Douxchamps, Sabine
Djurfeldt, Agnes Andersson
Erenstein, Olaf
Henderson, Benjamin B.
Kassie, Menale
Paul, Birthe K.
Rigolot, Cyrille
Ritzema, Randall S.
Rodríguez, Daniel
Asten, Piet J.A. van
Wijk, Mark T. van
author_sort Frelat, Romain
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description We calculated a simple indicator of food availability using data from 93 sites in 17 countries across contrasted agroecologies in sub- Saharan Africa (>13,000 farm households) and analyzed the drivers of variations in food availability. Crop production was the major source of energy, contributing 60% of food availability. The off-farm income contribution to food availability ranged from 12% for households without enough food available (18% of the total sample) to 27% for the 58% of households with sufficient food available. Using only three explanatory variables (household size, number of livestock, and land area), we were able to predict correctly the agricultural determined status of food availability for 72% of the households, but the relationships were strongly influenced by the degree of market access. Our analyses suggest that targeting poverty through improving market access and off-farm opportunities is a better strategy to increase food security than focusing on agricultural production and closing yield gaps. This calls for multisectoral policy harmonization, incentives, and diversification of employment sources rather than a singular focus on agricultural development. Recognizing and understanding diversity among smallholder farm households in sub-Saharan Africa is key for the design of policies that aim to improve food security.
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spelling CGSpace701342025-12-08T09:54:28Z Drivers of household food availability in sub-Saharan Africa based on big data from small farms Frelat, Romain López Ridaura, Santiago Giller, Kenneth E. Herrero, Mario Douxchamps, Sabine Djurfeldt, Agnes Andersson Erenstein, Olaf Henderson, Benjamin B. Kassie, Menale Paul, Birthe K. Rigolot, Cyrille Ritzema, Randall S. Rodríguez, Daniel Asten, Piet J.A. van Wijk, Mark T. van food security smallholders farmers agricultores yield gap farme size seguridad alimentaria tamaño de la finca áfrica al sur del sahara We calculated a simple indicator of food availability using data from 93 sites in 17 countries across contrasted agroecologies in sub- Saharan Africa (>13,000 farm households) and analyzed the drivers of variations in food availability. Crop production was the major source of energy, contributing 60% of food availability. The off-farm income contribution to food availability ranged from 12% for households without enough food available (18% of the total sample) to 27% for the 58% of households with sufficient food available. Using only three explanatory variables (household size, number of livestock, and land area), we were able to predict correctly the agricultural determined status of food availability for 72% of the households, but the relationships were strongly influenced by the degree of market access. Our analyses suggest that targeting poverty through improving market access and off-farm opportunities is a better strategy to increase food security than focusing on agricultural production and closing yield gaps. This calls for multisectoral policy harmonization, incentives, and diversification of employment sources rather than a singular focus on agricultural development. Recognizing and understanding diversity among smallholder farm households in sub-Saharan Africa is key for the design of policies that aim to improve food security. 2016-01-12 2016-01-25T18:24:47Z 2016-01-25T18:24:47Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/70134 en Open Access application/pdf National Academy of Sciences Frelat, Romain; Lopez-Ridaur, Santiago; Giller, Ken E.; Herrero, Mario; Douxchamps, Sabine; Djurfeldt, Agnes Andersson; Erenstein, Olaf; Henderson, Ben; Kassie, Menale; Paul, Birthe; Rigolot, Cyrille; Ritzema, Randall S.; Rodriguez, Daniel; Van Asten, Piet J. A.; Van Wijk, Mark T. 2016. Drivers of household food availability in sub-Saharan Africa based on big data from small farms. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) 113(2): 458-463.
spellingShingle food security
smallholders
farmers
agricultores
yield gap
farme size
seguridad alimentaria
tamaño de la finca
áfrica al sur del sahara
Frelat, Romain
López Ridaura, Santiago
Giller, Kenneth E.
Herrero, Mario
Douxchamps, Sabine
Djurfeldt, Agnes Andersson
Erenstein, Olaf
Henderson, Benjamin B.
Kassie, Menale
Paul, Birthe K.
Rigolot, Cyrille
Ritzema, Randall S.
Rodríguez, Daniel
Asten, Piet J.A. van
Wijk, Mark T. van
Drivers of household food availability in sub-Saharan Africa based on big data from small farms
title Drivers of household food availability in sub-Saharan Africa based on big data from small farms
title_full Drivers of household food availability in sub-Saharan Africa based on big data from small farms
title_fullStr Drivers of household food availability in sub-Saharan Africa based on big data from small farms
title_full_unstemmed Drivers of household food availability in sub-Saharan Africa based on big data from small farms
title_short Drivers of household food availability in sub-Saharan Africa based on big data from small farms
title_sort drivers of household food availability in sub saharan africa based on big data from small farms
topic food security
smallholders
farmers
agricultores
yield gap
farme size
seguridad alimentaria
tamaño de la finca
áfrica al sur del sahara
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/70134
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