IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/wpaper/hal-03088715.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Does livestock ownership affect food security? Evidence from rural Mauritania
[La propriété du bétail a-t-elle une incidence sur la sécurité alimentaire ? Cas de la Mauritanie rurale]

Author

Listed:
  • Mamoudou Ba

    (CATT - Centre d'Analyse Théorique et de Traitement des données économiques - UPPA - Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour)

Abstract

Livestock farming sector significantly contributes to sustainable food security in many countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. It provides income and employment to a large segment of rural population in the countries of the Sahel such as Mauritania which face frequent climatic shocks. Keeping livestock also improves the availability of animal-source food for household consumption. In this study, we assess the role of livestock ownership and stock size in reducing severe food insecurity in rural Mauritania using data from a recent nationally representative household survey. We construct a food security index based on responses to the twelve questions asked in the survey, and use instrumental variables to correct for endogeneity problems. Our results suggest that livestock can have a positive role in improving food security in rural Mauritania. Compared to an agricultural household, the probability of being food insecure is 23.6% lower in a livestock-farming household for all types of livestock. Ownership of large (cows and camels) and small (goat and sheep) ruminants is associated with 16.3% and 21.6% greater probability of escaping from severe food insecurity. There is also some evidence for the size effect. A 1% increase in stock size (measured in tropical units) is associated with about 10% lower level of severe food insecurity among rural farm households. The beneficial contribution of livestock in insuring household food security is particularly visible among poor households. The results also show that livestock diversification has an important effect on the food security of households which practice this adaptation strategy to improve their food security. Helping farm households improve and expand their animal stock can therefore provide an answer to the challenges arising from multiple climatic and economic shocks and thus reduce severe food insecurity in the rural areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Mamoudou Ba, 2020. "Does livestock ownership affect food security? Evidence from rural Mauritania [La propriété du bétail a-t-elle une incidence sur la sécurité alimentaire ? Cas de la Mauritanie rurale]," Working Papers hal-03088715, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-03088715
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://univ-pau.hal.science/hal-03088715
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://univ-pau.hal.science/hal-03088715/document
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fafchamps, Marcel & Udry, Christopher & Czukas, Katherine, 1998. "Drought and saving in West Africa: are livestock a buffer stock?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 273-305, April.
    2. Babatunde, Raphael O. & Qaim, Matin, 2010. "Impact of off-farm income on food security and nutrition in Nigeria," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 303-311, August.
    3. Carlo Azzarri & Alberto Zezza & Beliyou Haile & Elizabeth Cross, 2015. "Does Livestock Ownership Affect Animal Source Foods Consumption and Child Nutritional Status? Evidence from Rural Uganda," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(8), pages 1034-1059, August.
    4. Carter, Michael R. & Little, Peter D. & Mogues, Tewodaj & Negatu, Workneh, 2007. "Poverty Traps and Natural Disasters in Ethiopia and Honduras," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 835-856, May.
    5. Girma Gezimu Gebre, 2012. "Determinants of Food Insecurity among Households in Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia," Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems - scientific journal, Croatian Interdisciplinary Society Provider Homepage: http://indecs.eu, vol. 10(2), pages 159-173.
    6. Andersson, Camilla & Mekonnen, Alemu & Stage, Jesper, 2011. "Impacts of the Productive Safety Net Program in Ethiopia on livestock and tree holdings of rural households," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(1), pages 119-126, January.
    7. Mikkel Barslund & Finn Tarp, 2008. "Formal and Informal Rural Credit in Four Provinces of Vietnam," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(4), pages 485-503, April.
    8. repec:zna:indecs:v:10:y:2012:i:1:p:159-173 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Abebaw, Degnet & Admassie, Assefa & Kassa, Habtemariam & Padoch, Christine, 2020. "Can rural outmigration improve household food security? Empirical evidence from Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    10. Abera Demeke & Alwin Keil & Manfred Zeller, 2011. "Using panel data to estimate the effect of rainfall shocks on smallholders food security and vulnerability in rural Ethiopia," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 108(1), pages 185-206, September.
    11. Anna D'Souza & Dean Jolliffe, 2014. "Food Insecurity in Vulnerable Populations: Coping with Food Price Shocks in Afghanistan," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 96(3), pages 790-812.
    12. Dedehouanou, Sènakpon Fidèle Ange & Araar, Abdelkrim & Ousseini, Aichatou & Harouna, Abdoulaziz Laouali & Jabir, Maimounata, 2018. "Spillovers from off-farm self-employment opportunities in rural Niger," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 428-442.
    13. Mamoudou Ba & Amar Anwar & Mazhar Mughal, 2021. "Non‐farm employment and poverty reduction in Mauritania," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(3), pages 490-514, April.
    14. Azeem, Muhammad Masood & Mugera, Amin W. & Schilizzi, Steven, 2016. "Living on the edge: Household vulnerability to food-insecurity in the Punjab, Pakistan," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 1-13.
    15. Deininger, Klaus & Olinto, Pedro, 2001. "Rural Nonfarm Employment and Income Diversification in Colombia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 455-465, March.
    16. Federica Carfagna & Raffaello Cervigni, 2018. "Mitigating Drought Impacts in Drylands," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 29597.
    17. Ecker, Olivier & Qaim, Matin, 2011. "Analyzing Nutritional Impacts of Policies: An Empirical Study for Malawi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 412-428, March.
    18. Alary, Véronique & Corniaux, Christian & Gautier, Denis, 2011. "Livestock's Contribution to Poverty Alleviation: How to Measure It?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(9), pages 1638-1648, September.
    19. Babatunde, Raphael O. & Qaim, Matin, 2010. "Impact of Off-farm Income on Food Security and Nutrition in Nigeria," 2010 AAAE Third Conference/AEASA 48th Conference, September 19-23, 2010, Cape Town, South Africa 97332, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).
    20. Truong Lam Do & Trung Thanh Nguyen & Ulrike Grote, 2019. "Livestock Production, Rural Poverty, and Perceived Shocks: Evidence from Panel Data for Vietnam," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(1), pages 99-119, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Matthew D. Turner & Molly Teague & Augustine Ayantunde, 2021. "Livelihood, culture and patterns of food consumption in rural Burkina Faso," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(5), pages 1193-1213, October.
    2. Qaim, Matin, 2014. "Evaluating nutrition and health impacts of agricultural innovations," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 185785, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    3. Ma, Wanglin & Vatsa, Puneet & Zheng, Hongyun & Rahut, Dil Bahadur, 2022. "Nonfarm employment and consumption diversification in rural China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 582-598.
    4. Mamoudou Ba & Amar Anwar & Mazhar Mughal, 2021. "Non‐farm employment and poverty reduction in Mauritania," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(3), pages 490-514, April.
    5. Munir Ahmed & Ghulam Mustafa & Muhammad Iqbal, 2016. "Impact of Farm Households’ Adaptations to Climate Change on Food Security: Evidence from Different Agro-ecologies of Pakistan," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 55(4), pages 561-588.
    6. Van den Broeck, Goedele & Swinnen, Johan & Maertens, Miet, 2017. "Global value chains, large-scale farming, and poverty: Long-term effects in Senegal," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 97-107.
    7. Alexandra T Tapsoba & Pascale Combes Motel & Jean-Louis Combes, 2019. "Remittances, food security and climate variability: The case of Burkina Faso," CERDI Working papers halshs-02364775, HAL.
    8. Zereyesus, Yacob & Embaye, Weldensie & Tsiboe, Francis & Amanor-Boadu, Vincent, 2016. "Participation in non-farm work and vulnerability to food poverty of households in northern Ghana," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235741, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Tagel Gebrehiwot & Carolina Castilla, 2018. "Do safety net transfers improve household diets and reduce undernutrition? Evidence from rural Ethiopia," Working Papers PMMA 2018-03, PEP-PMMA.
    10. Thiede, Brian C., 2014. "Rainfall Shocks and Within-Community Wealth Inequality: Evidence from Rural Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 181-193.
    11. de Haen, Hartwig & Klasen, Stephan & Qaim, Matin, 2011. "What do we really know? Metrics for food insecurity and undernutrition," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 760-769.
    12. Rakhshanda, Kousar & Awudu, Abdulai, 2013. "Impacts of rural non-farm employment on household welfare in Pakistan," 2013 Second Congress, June 6-7, 2013, Parma, Italy 149890, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA).
    13. Mora-Rivera, Jorge & van Gameren, Edwin, 2021. "The impact of remittances on food insecurity: Evidence from Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    14. Fischer, Elisabeth & Qaim, Matin, 2012. "Gender, Agricultural Commercialization, and Collective Action in Kenya," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126659, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    15. Tesfamicheal Wossen & Salvatore Falco & Thomas Berger & William McClain, 2016. "You are not alone: social capital and risk exposure in rural Ethiopia," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 8(4), pages 799-813, August.
    16. Maryia Bakhtsiyarava & Kathryn Grace, 2021. "Agricultural production diversity and child nutrition in Ethiopia," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(6), pages 1407-1422, December.
    17. Ma, Xiaowei & Li, Chuandong & Kang, Qi & Chen, Danni & Sun, Qingyu, 2024. "Rural household nonagricultural income and energy transition: Evidence from central China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    18. Ma, Wanglin & Zhou, Xiaoshi & Renwick, Alan, 2019. "Impact of off-farm income on household energy expenditures in China: Implications for rural energy transition," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 248-258.
    19. Jose, Anu, 2024. "Income shocks and intrahousehold resource allocation: evidence from rural Ethiopia," MPRA Paper 121873, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. William Nkomoki & Miroslava Bavorová & Jan Banout, 2019. "Factors Associated with Household Food Security in Zambia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-18, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mauritania; Food security; Livestock breeders; Coping Strategies; Changement climatiques; Elevage extensif; Elevage pastoral; Securité alimentaire; Mauritanie; Elevage de ruminants;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-03088715. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.