Towards sustainable food security in rural households: A study of communication efforts aimed at eliminating hunger in Shimabala are of Kafue District

Abstract

This report is a result of the attachment of the author to Ministry of Community Development Mother and Child Health. The overall objective was to investigate the role of communication strategies in improving food security in rural households basing it on a case study of Shimabala area of Kafue district.Farming is a major activity done by the rural people, however the majority of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2030, farming population will live in urban areas by 2030, farming population will not be much smaller than they are today. For the foreseeable future, therefore, dealing with poverty and hunger in much of the world means confronting the problems that small farmers and their families face in their daily struggle for survival (World Bank 2001). Food security exists when all people at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for and active and health live.Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health was been picked as an institution that offers information and incentives to small scale farmer on how to farm in order to meet their food security for themselves and the entire country. The strategies used by Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child were analysed and its views collected gave a clear picture of how it does function in line with curbing the food security in Shimabala. The researcher covered problems in line with communication strategies and the activities the farmers are facing with and involved in.Small scale farmers were interviewed and spoken to include the Extension officers and others not involved in farming activities but living in Shimabala area. This is to find out the problems affecting the farmers in access information on food Security; hence the effectiveness of communication strategies on food security were analysed.