Flood-induced food insecurity and coping strategies: A gender-based analysis of agrarian households in South-eastern Nigeria

Abstract

Abstract The study addressed flood-induced food insecurity and coping strategies in agrarian South-eastern Nigeria. Data were collected from 400 households in 8 communities. Food (in)security was measured using Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM) and 92.8% households were found to be food insecure. The most adopted coping strategies were compromising food quantity and quality namely; skipping meals; reducing meal frequency and reducing meal portion size in descending order. The study revealed a gender-based disparity in coping strategies adopted between female- and male-headed households and this has been linked to income and asset poverty gaps including differential household food insecurity levels. The coping strategies adopted were self-devised strategies that provided short-term means of survival in times of food shortages. Thus, policy measures, such as social security and food safety nets that are sustainable are recommended to reduce vulnerability to flood-induced food insecurity, thereby improving adaptation to help achieve Goal 2 of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.