Acceso usuarios
Food security (FS) assessment is complex and its multidimensional nature does not make it easy to quantify. In Cameroon, the persistence of food insecurity despite the efforts made is more worrying and its measurement constitutes an obstacle. The objective of this work was to highlight an analytical approach for assessing the food situation in rural households. Clearly, the aim was to propose a method for estimating an aggregate proxy for FS at household level (IASA) and to analyze the determinants that result from it. Using a principal component aggregation approach (PCA), the IASA was estimated following a standardization process. The Tobit model has identified the factors that influence FS. The results revealed that the approach to estimating the IASA based on all-factors of the PCA is likely to provide a relevant proxy and more representative of the food situation than does based exclusively on a single component. The social anchoring of the household, the workforce, the diversification of agricultural and pastoral activities and especially agro-pastoral income are the main predictors of FS while the level of vulnerability, marital status (widower) and land conflict are the risk factors degrading food well-being. Specialized research on FS should take into account the multidimensional aspect by integrating into the proxy estimation all the main components resulting from the extraction of PCA, so that it accurately reflects the phenomenon under study. The actors (State, NGOs, and donors) involved in the fight against food insecurity must direct their actions in favor of the promotion of agro-pastoral projects carried out by well-structured farmers’ organizations and initiated income-generating activities and remittances to households carried by widowers
