Food and nutrition insecurity risk mapping (FNIRM) in urban and periurban areas in West African cities (Tamale and Ouagadougou)

Media type: E-Book; Thesis

Title: Food and nutrition insecurity risk mapping (FNIRM) in urban and periurban areas in West African cities (Tamale and Ouagadougou)

Contributor: Chagomoka, Takemore [Verfasser]; Glaser, Rüdiger [Akademischer Betreuer]; Drescher, Axel W. [Akademischer Betreuer]; Marschner, Bernd [Akademischer Betreuer]

imprint: Freiburg: Universität, 2016

Extent: Online-Ressource

Language: English

DOI: 10.6094/UNIFR/10857

Identifier:

Keywords: (local)doctoralThesis ; Hochschulschrift

Origination:

University thesis: Dissertation, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, 2016

Footnote:

Description: Zusammenfassung: Food and nutrition insecurity remains a global challenge, with sub-Saharan Africa bearing a large share of this burden. Women, mostly of reproductive age (15 – 49 years) and children under five years are at the pinnacle of this problem. It has traditionally been looked at as a problem of rural areas taking in consideration that urban households are better placed than their rural counterparts in terms of infrastructure, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Nevertheless, recent trends in this region show more evidence of rising urban poverty, in the midst of growing cities and looming food shortages. These challenges of food and nutrition insecurity in and around cities lead urban dwellers to engage in farming activities to help satisfy their food needs. The global share of African urban dwellers is projected to rise from 11.3 % in 2010 to a 20.2 % by 2050, further increasing urban food demand. Although many studies have reported on food and nutrition insecurity and its interaction with agriculture, little is known, however, about how this differs between multiple locations along the urban - rural continuum. The urban – rural continuum approach enhances formulation of efficient urban sustainability policies as it is inclusive and addresses sustainability in areas large enough to encompass urban, periurban and rural areas unlike other approaches which focus on the dichotomy between urban and rural areas. Information on spatial variation of household food and nutrition insecurity can be very useful in understanding its dynamics in various locations and help in resource allocation and proper intervention targeting.The primary objective of the study was to understand and map the dynamics of household food and nutrition insecurity in urban, periurban and rural settings. The study was conducted along the urban - rural continuum of two sub-Saharan African cities; in Tamale (Ghana) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). Furthermore, the role played by urban, periurban and rural agriculture was investigated.The study used a mixed method approach, with a transect approach building the foundation for data collection. Transects, 2 km wide and 70 km from Ouagadougou and Tamale central markets, were laid radially. Based on the relevant literature, working definitions of urban, periurban and rural areas were established. Within 10 km of the city centre was considered as urban, between 10 km to 40 km as periurban, and between 40 to 70 km as rural. All households along the transects were digitised and randomly selected using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). A total of 240 households were selected (4 transects x 3 zones x 20 households) in each location (Tamale and Ouagadougou). The waypoint data was transferred to a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, which helped in locating and identification of sampled households. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on: household food insecurity using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS); household nutrition insecurity using Women`s Dietary Diversity Score (WDDS) and anthropometric measurements; household agricultural activities (crop and livestock production) and household food coping strategies using the Coping Strategy Index (CSI). Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were used to verify household coping strategies. In contrary to many other studies, the chosen approach allows much better to localize food related problems on different scales.The results of this study revealed varying involvement in agriculture and consumption patterns in Ouagadougou and Tamale along the urban – rural continuum. Highest dietary diversity (WDDS ≥ 6) was recorded in the urban areas compared to periurban and rural areas in Tamale. This was due to the presence of many food dealers, shops and food markets in urban areas compared to periurban and rural areas. In Ouagadougou households in the rural areas had the highest dietary diversity (WDDS ≥ 6), compared to periurban and urban households. This was because of the subsistence nature of crop production in rural areas, coupled with presence of wild fruits and traditional vegetables that offered the opportunity to a wide diversity of food groups compared to urban and periurban areas. This shows that access (purchasing power, income and markets infrastructure) and availability (domestic production) are key factors of food and nutrition security in both locations. Households from the urban areas in Tamale (36%) were more food insecure (HFIAS > 11) compared to their counterparts in periurban areas (9%) and the rural zone (10%), while in Ouagadougou households in periurban areas had the highest relative proportion (54%) of food insecurity (HFIAS > 11), compared to urban areas (39%) and rural areas (45%). The subsistence nature of agriculture in rural areas in both locations helped rural households to provide food to their families compared to periurban and urban households. The periurban area in Ouagadougou is associated with seasonal flooding with most households practising minimum or no agriculture, thus perpetuating food shortages. In both locations, periurban households had the highest relative proportion of stunting prevalence compared to urban and rural households. Periurban were perceived as safety nets in both locations, thus high influx of people from both urban and rural areas.There was evidence of more inclination toward staple crops compared to vegetables along the urban – rural continuum for both production and consumption, clearly shown in crops grown and food groups mostly consumed (cereals and tubers rather than dark green vegetables). In Ouagadougou households doing livestock keeping reduced significantly wasting (WHZ) and overweight (BAZ) compared to households not doing livestock keeping. Livestock keepers also sold their animals to generate income which was used to meet family food need and other requirements. Unexpectedly, households involved in crop production increased significantly food insecurity (HFIAS) compared to households without crop production. With the subsistence nature of agriculture in the study area we expected crop production to reduce household food insecurity. Low crop yields due to use of poor farmer saved seeds, prevalent erratic rains and poor soils contributed to this finding. Growing crops and keeping livestock was significantly associated with reduction in wasting among children under five years of age. On the other hand rural livestock production in Tamale, reduced the HFIAS significantly compared to periurban and urban livestock production. Most households in rural areas were keeping livestock to sell during times of hardship to meet households needs including buying food. The changes were insignificant among crop growers versus non-growers in urban, periurban and rural areas in Tamale.Study results reveal that food coping strategies vary from one spatial entity to another in terms of frequency, severity and coping strategy indices along the urban – rural continuum. The study identified five coping strategies along the urban - rural continuum as the most severe in times of food insecurity, namely; skipping food for a whole day, borrowing, buying food on credit, consuming seed stock and restricting adult intake in favour of children. Hunting, consuming less preferred food, taking occasional jobs and engaging in small trading were considered as not severe. In both Tamale and Ouagadougou, women were forming critical coping strategies to provide food to the family by involved in trading and doing small jobs. In Tamale, due to the cultural orientation women were observed to play important role of providing nutritious diets and soup for the family.Erratic rains, poor soils, use of poor quality farmer saved seeds and shortage of land were identified as some of the causes of food and nutrition insecurity in Tamale and Ouagadougou. A close look at land tenure systems shows that there are competing land uses between infrastructure development and agriculture in both locations. Strategies used by urban and periurban dwellers in Tamale to cope with these complex tenure systems for food production are: urban–periurban-rural migrant farming and buffer zone farming. In Ouagadougou, rural – rural migration during the dry season was observed as a survival strategy in search of land and water to produce crops. This finding reveals the connectivity of urban, periurban and rural areas, in terms of resource sharing.The study concludes that food and nutrition insecurity certainly has a socio-spatial dimension that is highly influenced by the degree of urbanity along the urban – rural continuum and is related to urban, periurban and rural agriculture. The interaction between urban, periurban and rural areas along the continuum enhanced access to food, resources, infrastructure and services. The complexity of periurban areas coupled with the scourge of food and nutrition insecurity will require more promotion of periurban agriculture and food policy consideration

Access State: Open Access

Search in field:

Recently searched for: