Survey of the Relationship between Community Social Life and Food Security in Adjumani District: A Case Study of Ciforo Sub-County.

Abstract

MAMAWI AMBAYO GODFREY (2013-MO93-10013) Survey of the Relationship between Community Social Life and Food Security in Adjumani District: A Case Study of Ciforo Sub-County. A survey to study the relationship between community social life and food security was done among the people in Ciforo sub-county, Adjumani district. The study was conducted to gain an understanding of the influence of food storage practices on the dimensions of the food security of the people in Ciforo sub-county, Adjumani district, to identify the general social life habits and practices affecting the food security situation in the communities in Ciforo sub-county, Adjumani district and to identify common environmental factors affecting food security in the communities of Ciforo sub-county, Adjumani district. The study covered a sample of 150 respondents who are farmers and the data were collected through a questionnaire and personal interview from all the five parishes and selected fifteen villages of Ciforo sub-county using both probability and non-probability sampling techniques. Designing field data recording sheets was done before data collection and data collection was done with appropriate quality control. Data analysis was done using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The results clearly indicated that the people of Ciforo sub-county, Adjumani district have poor food storage systems where the majority 73% store their food reserve in the huts in which they sleep forcing them to sell off the food reserve and the majority 58% of the farmers produce less than 1 ton of food per year on average. This indicates that the farmers have poor food levels where the average majority 61.67% of the respondents disagreed that their households have food availability, food stability, ability to access and utilise appropriate levels of food in their households from April to June every year. The study also found general social life habits and practices of the people like domestic violence, cultural practices, over population in households and lack of planning for production and sell of agriculture food reserves as the cause of cyclical food insecurity especially from April to June every year. The majority 48% of the farmers spend Ug.Shs.5, 000,000 to Ug.Shs.10, 000,000 on church marriages and this extravagancy usually causes them food shortage from the month of April to June every year. It is recommended that sensitisation and counselling of the community about social life factors affecting food security for example alcoholism, domestic violence, cultural practices, theft, health, power in household social structure and environment be given by government agencies for the people so that it improves their performance in saving of food reserves for consumption in the household. There is also need for government involvement in enacting bylaws to control too much consumption of alcohol, domestic violence, population, theft of food reserves and environmental protection. Government should also enact laws and policies at national level to make agriculture attractive to farmers by revamping cooperatives, increasing education scholarship for students and subsiding health services to improve on household food security. Key Words: