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Livelihoods Strategies and Household Resilience to Food Insecurity: A Case Study from Rural Tunisia

Author

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  • Mohamed Zied Dhraief

    (Rural Economic Department, National Agronomic Research Institute of Tunisia (INRAT), Avenue Hedi Karray, Tunis-Menzah 1004, Tunisia)

  • Boubaker Dhehibi

    (Resilient Agricultural Livelihood Systems Program–RALSP, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas–ICARDA, Amman 950764, Jordan)

  • Hamed Daly Hassen

    (Rural Economic Department, National Agronomic Research Institute of Tunisia (INRAT), Avenue Hedi Karray, Tunis-Menzah 1004, Tunisia)

  • Meriem Zlaoui

    (Rural Economic Department, National Agronomic Research Institute of Tunisia (INRAT), Avenue Hedi Karray, Tunis-Menzah 1004, Tunisia)

  • Chaima Khatoui

    (Rural Economic Department, National Agronomic Research Institute of Tunisia (INRAT), Avenue Hedi Karray, Tunis-Menzah 1004, Tunisia)

  • Sondes Jemni

    (Rural Economic Department, National Agronomic Research Institute of Tunisia (INRAT), Avenue Hedi Karray, Tunis-Menzah 1004, Tunisia)

  • Ouessama Jebali

    (Rural Economic Department, National Agronomic Research Institute of Tunisia (INRAT), Avenue Hedi Karray, Tunis-Menzah 1004, Tunisia)

  • Mourad Rekik

    (Resilient Agricultural Livelihood Systems Program–RALSP, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas–ICARDA, Amman 950764, Jordan)

Abstract

Due to the decrease of household incomes, the increase of food prices, and the negative effects of climate change on agricultural production, Tunisia faces a food insecurity challenge, especially in rural and arid areas. The purpose of our research is to understand and explore household resilience to food insecurity in two villages, Selta and Zoghmar, in central Tunisia. A cross-sectional survey of 250 sample households was conducted in the villages. Factor analysis and regression models were employed to analyze the data using SPSS version 21. The results indicate that only around 36% of the households were resilient at different levels. In Selta, 62.8% and in Zoghmar 66.7% of the households were vulnerable. As indicated by the factor loadings and beta coefficients, income and food access, adaptive capacity, and the social safety net were important dimensions of household resilience to food insecurity, being positively correlated with the resilience index. However, asset possession, and climate change negatively affect household resilience. Therefore, interventions must target strategies that address the different levels of resilience reflected by the resilience estimators. These estimators were generated by focusing mainly on building farmers’ knowledge of how to face the different difficulties and challenges.

Suggested Citation

  • Mohamed Zied Dhraief & Boubaker Dhehibi & Hamed Daly Hassen & Meriem Zlaoui & Chaima Khatoui & Sondes Jemni & Ouessama Jebali & Mourad Rekik, 2019. "Livelihoods Strategies and Household Resilience to Food Insecurity: A Case Study from Rural Tunisia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-17, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:3:p:907-:d:204768
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Christophe Béné & Derek Headey & Lawrence Haddad & Klaus Grebmer, 2016. "Is resilience a useful concept in the context of food security and nutrition programmes? Some conceptual and practical considerations," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 8(1), pages 123-138, February.
    2. Aboubakr Gambo Boukary & Adama Diaw & Tobias Wünscher, 2016. "Factors Affecting Rural Households’ Resilience to Food Insecurity in Niger," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-10, March.
    3. Marco d’Errico & Donato Romano & Rebecca Pietrelli, 2018. "Household resilience to food insecurity: evidence from Tanzania and Uganda," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(4), pages 1033-1054, August.
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