Food Security Index and Socio-Economic Effects of Climate Change on Rural Farming Households in Delta State, Nigeria

The study examined the food security status and the socio-economic effects of climate change on rural farming households in Delta State, Nigeria. The main objective of the study was to determine the food security status of the rural farming households in the state while the specific objective was to determine the socio-economic effects of climate change on rural farming households in the state. Multistage sampling procedure was used in the random selection of local government, communities and rural households for the research study. The data for the study were obtained with the aids of structured questionnaire survey randomly administered to rural farming households in the state. Food security index was used to determine the level of food insecurity (food security status) among the rural households in communities that have been affected by flood and or other climate hazardswhile descriptive statistics was used to summarize the socio-economic effects and their food security status of the rural farming households in the state. Most respondents (65.10%) were married with low annual income of N54,702 ($353) which is less than the poverty line of less than $1 (one dollar) a day. Most rural farming households witnessed loss of investment on farm lands, lives and income respectively in the state. The study also reveals that rural farming households suffered ill health, such as malaria, water borne diseases and skin infections that were on the increase in the state. The study also revealed that majority of respondents was moderately food insecure. The study also recommends that Government planning agencies and policy makers should put into consideration these food insecurity situations in their planning and policy implementation to prevent future chronic food insecurity situation in the state.