Factors associated with household food security in Somalia: ordered probit approach

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2023)
Published: November 14, 2023
Food insecurity, hunger, Somalia, household hunger scale (HHS), ordered probit
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Authors

Mustafe Abdi Mohamed
Mustafemoh20@gmail.com
Nugaal University, Department of Economics, Las Anod, Somalia.

Hunger can be defined as the uncomfortable or painful sensation caused by insufficient food consumption; It is the most severe form of food insecurity, implying that people do not have enough food to meet their basic needs. This study’s general objective is to determine the factors associated with food insecurity in Somalia. An ordered probit model has been utilized using data from the 2020 Somali Health and Demographic Survey produced by the Somalia National Bureau of Statistics to find out which socioeconomic variables food insecurity in Somalia is correlated, which contains a sample of 16,360 households. The study employs the Household Hunger Scale (HHS) to measure food security. The ordered probit is used as an empirical model since the latent variable assumes gradations in order, with the dependent variable of HHS. According to the food security level, Somalia had 5.82% severe food insecurity and 19.28% moderate food insecurity. The results of the models showed that the education level of the household head, having electricity, being a member of the agricultural group, having livestock, and having a bank account decreases the probability of household food insecurity. The results imply an effort must be made at the level of national education, access to and policies supporting livestock development programs such as training farmers in animal husbandry, as well as policies increasing the availability of electricity and access to finance, which have the potential to enhance household food security.

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How to Cite

Mohamed, M. A. (2023). Factors associated with household food security in Somalia: ordered probit approach. Somali Journal of Science, Technology and Society, 1(1). Retrieved from https://africa.pagepress.net/sjsts/article/view/386
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