EFFECT OF POST-HARVEST LOSS MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES ON THE FOOD SECURITY STATUS OF COWPEA FARMING HOUSEHOLDS IN KOGI STATE, NIGERIA.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33003/jaat.2026.1202.04Keywords:
Food Security,, Post-harvest Losses,, Management Strategies,, Binary Logit,, HFIASAbstract
Effect of post-harvest loss management strategies on the food security status of cowpea farming households in Kogi State, Nigeria was the focus of this work. Multistage sampling procedure was used to select 250 farmers across the agricultural zones of the State. Descriptive statistics, Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) and binary logit regression were used to analyze the collected data. The results showed that sun drying (93%), timely harvesting (88%), and timely marketing (78%) were the most commonly used post-harvest loss management strategies. Findings further revealed that majority of the households were food insecure. Binary logit results indicated that post-harvest loss incidence (p < 0.01), household size (p < 0.01), gender (p < 0.05), and age (p < 0.01) negatively influenced food security, while cowpea income (p < 0.01) and farming experience (p < 0.01) had positive and significant effects on the food security of households. However, post-harvest loss management strategies were not significant. The study concludes that mere use of post-harvest loss management strategies does not guarantee improved food security conditions for the households in the study area. The study recommends that structural frameworks and policies that will Promote the appropriate and efficient use of post-harvest loss management strategies coupled with requisite training, credit and institutional support in other to reduce the incidence of post-harvest losses in the study area.
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