Social economic determinants of household food insecurity in Luapula Province

Abstract

This study investigated the incidence of food insecurity and its determinants among households in luapula province, Zambia. The results are based on a household Living Condition Monetary Survey data of 2015. A random effect Logistic regression model was estimated based on this data with the household food security status (that is food secure and insecure) as the dependent variable and a set of demographic variables as explanatory variables. It was found that only about 35% percent of the households in luapula are food secure, with the remaining 65% being food insecure. Further analysis identified household income, household size, own produce, education level, employment status, age and gender of the household head as important determinants of food security. While other variables of importance such as own produce, log of total income, region, education levels and employment status positively influenced food security, household size and household head being a domestic worker were negatively associated with household food security. The gender and age of the head of the household was not important in explaining the variation in household food insecurity status. Information provided by this study can be used as a reference source for policy decisions regarding household food insecurity in Zambia. Key Words: Food Security; Determinants; Logistic Regression; Random Effect; Zambia