INFLUENCE OF COMMERCIALIZATION ON FOOD SECURITY STATUS OF CASSAVA PRODUCING HOUSEHOLDS IN ABIA STATE, NIGERIA

The study examined the influence of commercialization on food security status of cassava producing households in Abia State, Nigeria. It specifically assessed the current level of commercialization among the households and estimated the food security status of the households operating at different levels of commercialization. The study employed multistage sampling technique in the selection of location and respondents from whom data and information were elicited using pretested and structured questionnaire. In the course of data analysis, descriptive statistics, household commercialization index and food security index were used. The current level of commercialization revealed that a typical cassava producing household sold on the average 51 percent of its output with total sales ranging from 5.60% to 90.00%, implying that the most commercialized cassava producing household sold 90.00% of the gross value of its total cassava production. More so, the food security status of the households at different levels of commercialization depicted that households operating at a low level of commercialization were few and there was a slight disparity between the proportion of those that were food secure and those that were food insecure while the majority seemed to operate at a medium level with more of the people attaining food security. On the overall, the proportion of households that were food insecure is more than those that were food secure as indicated by the food insecurity incidence. On the basis of the findings, the study recommended that government and other stakeholders should shoulder the responsibility of developing new initiatives that will transform the smallholders from subsistence oriented to market - oriented production system among others.