The Hungry Farmer Paradox in Irrigated Agriculture: An Investigation into Food Insecurity among Farming Households in Suburban Communities around Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Citation: Aliyu A. Ammani, "The Hungry Farmer Paradox in Irrigated Agriculture: An Investigation into Food Insecurity among Farming Households in Suburban Communities around Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria", Universal Library of Advances in Agriculture, Volume 01, Issue 01.

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Approximately 80% of those facing food insecurity in Africa live in rural areas, and half are small-scale farmers, often managing marginal lands, thus, the “hungry farmer paradox”. Over 70% of Nigerians are estimated to be poor, and a significant proportion of the population is food-insecure. This study aimed at investigating the socioeconomic factors that influence the Hungry Farmer Paradox among irrigated crop farming households in suburban communities in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. The survey was conducted in 5 irrigated farming communities in suburban Zaria: Hayin Mallam, Hayin Gada, Birnin Bokko, Shika and Likoro in Giwa and Kudan Local Government Areas of Kaduna State of Nigeria. Primary data was collected. Descriptive statistics and Binary logistic regression were used to achieve the study’s objectives. Major findings of the study include: that all the respondents in the study area are male, and almost all (98.4%)are married, and that majority (84%) have attained some level of formal education; ppetty trading (69%) was the most common secondary occupation in the area, followed by paid employment, permanent (5%) and seasonal (4%). 22% were not engaged in any form of secondary occupation; the food situation among all respondents was generally “occasional food shortage” (54%) and “food shortage throughout the year” (28.4%). Only 17.6%, reported having enough food for their households in the previous year. Farm household food security in the survey area was significantly influenced by total farm size (0.481), household size (-0.135) and access to market (-1.030). The study concluded that farmers’ socioeconomic characteristics does influence their household’s food security level.

Keywords: Hungry Farmer Paradox, Irrigated Agriculture, Small-Scale Farmers, Nigeria.

https://doi.org/10.70315/uloap.ulaag.2025.0101004