ABSTRACT

The Study evaluated the contributions of Cassava Products to Food Security in Isuochi Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State. The broad objective of this study is to determine the contribution of Cassava Products to Household Food Security and specific objectives is to identify the determinants of the Food Security status of farming households in the study area, percentage Contribution of Cassava products to total staple food consumption and households. The sampling frame, consists of farm households, the sample random sampling technique were used to select seven communities out of the fourteen communities in the study Area. From the seven community eight respondents were purposively selected from each community giving a total number of 56 respondents. Well structured questionnaire were used to collect primary data. Descriptive statistics such as mean, percentage' were used to analyze their socio-economic characteristics. The result from socioeconomic characteristics showed that cassava production mainly done in the area by the youths, education had positive response to increase in cassava production, the farmers in the study area are smallholder farmers and women are more involved in cassava. Regression estimates of the determinants of Food Security of Farming Household were used in the study Area. The result showed that (X1), farm size (X2), access to consumption credit (X5), Educational qualification of household head (X6) and household size (X8) were the major determinants of food security in the study Area. The implication is that food security incidence of obvious if household in the study Area adopted them, income (Xi), farm size (X2), Access to consumption credit (X5) and educational qualification (X6) were positively and statutually significant at 1%, 1%. 1%, and 5% respectively. Household size though significant with a negative sign conformed to Apriori expectation since Food Security incidence increases with decrease in household size. Cassava products Contributed to total staple Food Consumption. Cassava Products Contributed immensely to the improvement of Food Security in the study area. Cassava products are source of income, carbohydrate, Food etc. Based on the findings of this work, it is recommended that an urgent need for Government intervention particularly as it affects land fragmentation which militates against increased output which improve the quantity of Cassava Products Processed, free education should be enforced since it has a significant effect to improve Food Security.