ISSN 2375-1134
African Journal of Agriculture ISSN 2375-1134 Vol. 7 (9), pp. 001-011, September, 2020. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Contribution of input trade fairs to food security in rural Swaziland: Case study of households under the Ngwempisi constituency
M. S. Mashinini1, M. M. Sithole2* and M. L. Mabuza3
1Sidwala School, P. O. Box 386, Mankayane, Swaziland.
2Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (CeSTII), Population Health, Health Systems and Innovation (PHHSI), Human Science Research Council (HSRC), P/Bag X9182, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa.
3Department of Agricultural Economics and Management, University of Swaziland, P O Luyengo, Swaziland.
Accepted 15 July, 2020
Abstract
The objective of the study was to determine the contribution of input trade fairs (ITFs) to household food security in rural Swaziland. Given the prevailing drought condition, a number of interventions, including ITFs, have been attempted to mitigate the effects of natural disasters on the livelihoods of rural households. Through a survey of 92 randomly selected households, a regression model was used, where amongst other factors influencing net food availability, was a dummy variable indicating whether a household was a recipient or non-recipient of ITFs. Having tested for structural stability on whether the regression for recipients differs from that of non-recipients in terms of intercepts and coefficients, homogeneity and autocorrelation, the analytical results indicated that ITFs significantly contribute to household net food availability. The study, therefore, recommends that ITFs can be considered as a temporary measure to respond to the current food crisis. The long-term solution, however, lies with the full implementation of Swaziland’s newly formulated Food Security Policy.
Key words: Input trade fairs, food production, food security, drought, Swaziland.