The Role of Home Gardens in Household Food Security in Eastern Cape: A Case Study of Three Villages in Nkonkobe Municipality

Household gardening activities remains an important avenue for food production for most urban and peri-urban populace. The purpose of the study is to examine the relationship between home gardening and household food security in the study area. The specific objectives were to determine the demographic characteristics of farmers in relation to income generated from home garden and examine the role of home garden in household food security. The findings reveals that the mean estimated income earned from vegetable production per year was 473.39 Rand (standard deviation=170.613, N=90), with the mean land size used for farming of 233.60 m2 (standard deviation=31.545, N=90). A correlation between estimated income generated by household per year in Rand from garden produce and land size was conducted to determine whether revenue from gardening could in fact be assessed by land size. Results demonstrated that land size and estimated income generated were positively correlated (r = 0.84, p < .001). In sum, home gardening remains an avenue for enhancing food security, health and social interrelation of households in the contemporary South African society.