FOOD LOSS/WASTE (FLW) BEHAVIOUR IN THE FOOD-SECURITY TRANSITION NEXUS AMONG FARMING HOUSEHOLDS IN THE SOUTHWEST OF NIGERIA

This study examines the dynamics of food loss/waste behaviour and its determinants among farming households in Southwestern Nigeria. A combination of cluster and systematic random sampling was used to select 160 households through primary data collected in two periods of late and early rain, respectively, over a period of 10 months. Data were analyzed using a simultaneous-equation model. Transition of food-security households to food-insecurity indicated a differential of 4.05% in the first season and a differential of 9.15% during the second. The probability of households escaping food insecurity was 0.23, and entering food insecurity was 0.37. Past studies of this nature only captured the food-insecurity status of households using a snapshot study. This study brought in innovation by examining the dynamics of FLW in two periods, during agricultural harvest, when more food waste/loss was recorded. Therefore, the question this study asks is: Can a farm household enhance food loss/waste reduction over a particular period of time and vice versa? Keywords: community empowerment; social forestry; scale validation; psychometrics; factor analysis.