How does farmers' income diversification beyond agriculture affect food security in rural Burkina Faso?

Abstract

This study analyzes the effect of participation in non-farm activities (NFAs) on the food security of farming households in rural areas. These households face major challenges in increasing agricultural production and income, leading to a deterioration in their food security. The endogenous switching model is used to analyze the impact of NFAs participation on the multidimensional food security index, based on data from the 2017 rural household living conditions survey in Burkina Faso. Statistical analysis shows that approximately 48.39% of households participate in NFAs, with 86.7% self-employed. The food security index was higher for participants (0.38) than for non-participants (−0.35). In addition, 40% of participating households were food secure, compared with 28% among non-participants. Endogenous switching regression results indicate that participation in NFAs, influenced by household education, access to services and openness to innovation, increases food security by 1.25 units for participants and by 1.43 units for non-participants if they chose to participate. This study may be limited in its generalizability, as it focuses only on agricultural households living in rural areas. The study shows the importance of interventions to improve non-farm sector in rural areas in improving household living conditions in terms of increasing food security level. This study contributes to the literature by showing that income diversification through non-farm activities improves food consumption among rural farming households.