Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
the results (as shown below in Research Findings). Interpretation of results
should be limited by the fact that these data are cross-sectional because of the
single round of data collection. Also, consumption data do not capture
seasonality or whether households experienced chronic or transitory food
insecurity.
The household survey only recorded quantities of cereals and tubers
accessed. It did not capture other foods consumed, such as legumes, meat, oils
and fats or greens. It was assumed that 70 per cent of required energy is
derived from cereals (1470 kcal). This presented two problems: first, how to
determine the cut-off point; and second, whether it made sense, given
variation across households as well as individuals' dietary requirements.
Another limitation is related to the survey sample. The sample was chosen
purposively and is representative of those suburbs where UA is undertaken.
As a result, the descriptive statistics reported in this study are not necessarily
representative of all the households in Harare, which include neighbourhoods
where UA is limited. Another important point is that a precursor of inclusion
was that those people studied had to be occupying a household. This meant
the homeless, as well as street children, were left out regardless of whether or
not they were practising UA.
R
ESEARCH
F
INDINGS
Objective 1: Characterization of sample
Table 4.3 shows basic demographic characteristics of the sampled households
(N
¼
368) by gender of head of household and participation in UA. A total of
69 households, or 18.8 per cent of the total sample, were headed by females.
Table 4.3 Descriptive characteristics of surveyed Harare households by the
gender of the household head and by participation in UA
Characteristic
All
households
(n ¼ 368)
Male-
headed
households
(n ¼ 299)
Female-
headed
households
(n ¼ 69)
Practising
UA
(n ¼ 331)
Not
practising
UA
(n ¼ 37)
Mean age of head
in years
46.9
(13.4)
45.9
(13.8)
50.9
(10.7)
47.7
(13.3)
39.5
(12.3)
5.2
(2.1)
4.6
(2.2)
Mean household
size (persons)
5
(2.1)
5.1
(2.2)
4.2
(1.4)
0.91
(0.84)
1.04
(0.92)
Dependency ratio
0.94
(0.84)
0.94
(0.85)
0.90
(0.71)
Note: Numbers in parentheses are standard deviations.
Significant at 5% level.
