True or Not, so What, #2

Own production remains the dominant source of food consumption for nearly all African farmers.

Not True
In East and Southern Africa, budget shares for purchased food among rural households exceed 50% in Malawi (58%), Nigeria (75%), Rwanda (55%), Tanzania (56%), Uganda (60%) and Zambia (57%). Among analyzed countries, only in Mozambique the share of own production in food consumption budget exceeds 50% (75%). (Source: Dolislager et al., (2016). “Food consumption patterns of East & Southern Africa across intra-poor segments of the population”).

So What?
Policies promoting off-farm income opportunities, and the efficiency of rural markets for food purchase, must be considered along with farm production efficiency in efforts to reduce rural poverty and improve rural food security.