Socio-economic Determinants Affecting Rural Households’ Food Security in Tanzania: A Case of Kilwa District.

Baluwa, Veronica Stephen (2025) Socio-economic Determinants Affecting Rural Households’ Food Security in Tanzania: A Case of Kilwa District. Masters thesis, The Open University of Tanzania.

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Abstract

The study titled ―Socio-economic Determinants Affecting Rural Households' Food Security in Kilwa District‖ aimed to assess the awareness of food insecurity and identify the social and economic factors influencing its persistence. Guided by Sen’s Food Entitlement Theory, the study employed a mixed research approach combining quantitative and qualitative methods. Using purposive and simple random sampling, data were collected from 398 households, selected through Yamane’s formula. Questionnaires were administered to gather information on food security, and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression with SPSS, while qualitative data were thematically analyzed. Findings revealed that 68.8% of households in rural Kilwa experience food insecurity, while only 31.2% are food secure. Male-headed households were found to be more food secure than female headed ones, and 64% of respondents were aware of their food insecurity status. The regression results showed that social determinants such as age, education level, marital status, and household size significantly affected food security. Similarly, economic factors including cultivated land size, household income, off-farm income, and access to credit also had adverse effects. The study concludes that food security in rural Kilwa is shaped by intertwined social and economic constraints, worsened by limited institutional support and outdated farming practices. It recommends enhanced government and stakeholder efforts to fund agricultural intensification, promote livelihood diversification, and improve economic opportunities to strengthen rural food security. Keywords: Social and economic determinants, food security, Food Entitlement Theory.

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