Coping strategies and food insecurity experiences: the case of female-headed agricultural households in Liberia

PurposeRealities of food insecurity are more pronounced with a specific focus on women in developing countries. The need to understand the varied food insecurity experiences among female-headed agricultural households in such contexts provided the rationale and motivation for this study.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a quantitative cross-sectional approach, drawing on the binary logistic regression to determine the influence of socioeconomic status on household coping mechanisms in response to food insecurity in a stratified random sample of 509 female-headed agricultural households in Liberia.FindingsThe results revealed that most respondents experienced food insecurity reflected in inadequate food availability, an inability to eat nutritious food and the necessity to skip meals. In response, they employed coping strategies such as borrowing money, selling assets, and reducing health expenses, which were influenced by socioeconomic characteristics such as gender, education, and marital status.Practical implicationsThe study illustrates the multi-layered and complex context of food insecurity among women. From these findings, the study proposes the consideration of such dynamics to inform practical and relevant mitigatory policy approaches to the target demographic.Social implicationsWith food insecurity being a social problem, the study identifies its social impact by documenting the participants' lived experiences. Thus, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of food insecurity across different segments of society.Originality/valueThe study draws its originality from understanding how food insecurity impacts female-headed households, highlighting the often-ignored gender dynamics of food insecurity in developing nations and aggregating the coping strategies and food insecurity expenses.