Global Food Security and Sustainability Conference

Biography

Biography: Galiwango Henry

Abstract

Globally, women greatly contribute to the food-security of their households through their role in growing food-crops and marketing those crops to raise income for purchasing food products, not grown besides being very crucial in ensuring household dietary diversity, by selecting what foods to serve depending on availability. But, their low access to and control over resources in the household reduces their influence over household decisions regarding agricultural production. Little is known as to whether this state affects their ability to ensure food security of their households. The study sought to determine the association between the extent of women’s participation in agriculture decision-making and household food-security in Luwero district, Central Uganda using a descriptive cross sectional survey design on a randomized sample of 135 women from dual-headed farming households in Luwero Sub-county, Luwero district. The women empowerment in agriculture index (WEAI) tool helped to determine the extent of women’s participation as well as the household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS) to determine the food security status of the households. Chi square tests helped determine the association between the extent of women’s participation in agricultural decision-making and household food. Majority of women (62%) had a moderate decision-making position and only 30% had a high decision-making position in agricultural production. However, the Chi-square test conducted revealed a statistically significant association between women’s participation in agriculture decision-making and household food-security (X²=15.230; p=0.004) thus showing the likely contribution of women to food-security if they fully participate in making agricultural decisions.