Local Perception of Household Vulnerability to Food Insecurity in Bahi District, Tanzania

A study was carried out in Bahi District of Central Tanzania to explore local perceptions of food security and vulnerability to food insecurity. In this area millet is the staple food. In this regard, a household without enough millet to feed its members for the whole year was perceived food insecure even if it had access to other foodstuffs. Also, a household that depleted its millet stocks in less than 12 months was perceived food insecure while vulnerability was perceived as a state of being food insecure and/or being at risk of becoming food insecure. Based on local perceptions, 76% of the sampled households were found vulnerable to food insecurity whereas 24% were not. Besides, majority of the households were food insecure (63%) while only 37% households were food secure. Various factors were associated with household vulnerability to food insecurity. These factors include household being headed by a very old person (70 years and above); lack of alternative sources of income; misuse or improper handling of the produced food; a household having dependents (children under 13 years and old persons of over 70 years old). Therefore interventions to improve food security and reduce vulnerability to food insecurity should address these factors and seek to improve millet production.