Assessing the Food Availability and Food Insecurity Situation among Communities of Matam Region, Senegal

ABSTRACT

Matam is one of the poorest and most food-insecure regions of Senegal. In the past years, repeated environmental shocks such as drought have limited the access to food and it is unclear whether food insecurity is more a function of food availability (FA) and accessibility at the community level (CL) or more related to FA at the household level (HL). To better understand the FA and food security (FS) situation in this region, in 2018, a cross-sectional study was conducted in 103 households living in four villages. Through focus group discussions and direct observations, data on food available at HL and CL were collected as well as on food affordability and household FS. Overall, between 49 and 64 different foods, mostly from plant source, were identified. Around 75% of households had 0 to 3 foods and 7%, 7 to 10; 64% of all households were severely food insecure. FA at HL and its socioeconomic status were positively associated with household FS whereas FA at the CL was negatively associated. Although food assistance may be required to respond to shocks in the area, investments could be made to improve households` socioeconomic level to enhance their access to food.

KEYWORDS:

• Food insecurity
• food availability
• households
• Matam

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all participants and enumerators for their contributions to the study. We would like to acknowledge the financial contribution of the International Development Research Center (IDRC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SHRC) which supported this research through the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship program.