Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Data management
Data entry took four weeks using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences
(SPSS, version 10) for data entry. To minimize errors, a double-entry system
was used and all discrepancies were corrected by referring back to the
questionnaire. Data cleaning on the original data files was also conducted in
SPSS (version 10). Tabulation and further analysis were done in SPSS versions
10 and 11. A total of 368 questionnaires remained from the original 372 after
data cleaning.
Analytical techniques
Livelihood and food security analyses were conducted by looking at food and
income sources, as well as amounts, expenditure patterns, coping strategies
and required daily allowances compared with energy adequacy.
Statistical analyses
Statistical analysis used in this research (see below) involved descriptive
statistics such as mean, median, proportions and odds ratios. These were used
to compare those households practising UA with those that were not.
Independent t-tests were applied similarly. Associations between categorical
variables were investigated using chi-square tests. A P value of 0.05 or less was
considered significant. A linear regression model was fitted to determine
factors affecting food security. A binary logistic regression model was fitted
for participation in UA, which has a binary outcome (yes or no). Odds were
calculated for the categorical variables such as sex, educational
level of
household head and suburb type.
Food security analysis
Annual household food requirements
The widely accepted minimum required intake of 2100 kcal per day for an
average adult was used as the benchmark during this research (WFP/UNHCR,
1997; WHO, 2000; WFP, 2000). This is the minimum requirement for adults
against which people's access to food was compared. However, it is
acknowledged that differences in requirements between households with the
same total size, but different demographic composition, are masked by using
this method. Based on the information from these studies, we assumed that
cereals supplied 70 per cent of the required food energy, or 1470 kcal/person
per day, for an average household member. This is equivalent to 148 kg of
cereals per year. These energy requirements were disaggregated by age and
gender, as is indicated in Table 4.2.
The total number of household members was calculated in the age and
gender categories listed above. The number of people in each category was
then multiplied by the quantity in kilograms of cereal required by that age and
gender group in order for them to meet 70 per cent of their minimum cereal
needs.