ABSTRACT

The narrative of this study is centered on scaling up a nutritious food system by looking at demand and supply while marketing capabilities serve as a mediator. It is of interest to note that addressing the fight against malnutrition and hunger cannot succeed without looking at issues such as demand and supply within a larger perspective. Therefore, this study has addressed the link between demand and supply from the point of marketing capabilities to among other things provide information, dialogue, market and decisions that creates a push or pull strategy. The concomitant realization is that demand creation is an essential element of the nutritious food system. Therefore, this study specifically, sought to examine the level of awareness of biofortification of cassava food products and benefits; determine the level of consumer adoption of biofortified cassava products; estimate the food security status of the households of biofortified cassava consumers; estimate the demand for and supply of biofortified cassava products and identify marketing capabilities required to meet household food security using a sample of 240 and 90 consumers and producers of biofortified cassava products respectively. Analytically, the study employed descriptive statistics, two-staged least (2SLS) squared regression estimates, factor analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM) as they suit the study objectives and based on characteristics of interest. The results show that the respondents were married adults, educated, with relatively high-income level and low households' size. The categorization of biofortified cassava value added products shows a high level of adoption. Findings also revealed that food security status of the respondents have improved as more families are food secured in contrast to other studies. The result of the 2SLS on demand shows that price of substitutes and education, expenses on nutritional products, awareness of product benefits, income and recommendation from experts have positive sign and statistically significant at various levels of confidence. The result of 2SLS for supply shows that price of the product, market orientation, institutional support and education were statistically significant at various degree of confidence. The analysis of the relationship between demand, supply and marketing capabilities on food security-food availability, food access and food utilization were analyzed using SEM. All the factors/constructs show that the variables were highly significant. The overall chi-square was 772.098, which was significant at 1% confidence level. The path coefficients of the three constructs considered show that relationship between supply and demand was not significant. The study shows that several factors such as poor awareness, lack of information, safety issues militate against consumption, while finance, administrative bureaucracy affects production and marketing. Therefore, this study recommended that demand is an essential element of the nutritious food system, but it depends on awareness creation. There is need to deepen communication machinery to steer an overwhelming product acceptance, adoption and consumption of biofortified cassava product. At the root of all the discovery lies on food education and literacy through awareness creation to encourage demand with consequences on supply.