Influence of Socio-economic Factors on the Performance of Food Security Projects: a Case of South and Central Somalia

Abstract

A large portion of the population in African nations lacks consistent access to food supply and basic nutritional requirements; as a result, they suffer from food shortages and undernourishment. The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of socio-economic factors on the performance of food security projects in South and Central Somalia. The four variables under study were; influence of social protection support, influence of security, influence of community resource capacity and influence of cultural orientation on the performance of food security projects in South and Central somalia. Food availability theory and Entitlement Approach theory guided this study. the study used a mixed methods research design, combining elements of qualitative and quantitative research approaches. This study was conducted in South and Central Somalia with an estimate population of 560,000 people receiving food assistance. Krejci and Morgan table was used to get a sample population of 384 respondents. Systematic sampling is a probability sampling method in which researchers select members of the population at a regular interval. A questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale was employed. Interview schedules was prepared for The Ministry of Planning, Investment and Economic Development of Somalia directors and heads of departments, IFRC and SCRS project managers. A pilot study was undertaken on a limited selection of 10% of the sample size to assess different indicators of either the variables. The quantitative data that was collected from the questionnaire was first be organized, classified and coded. The data was analyzed descriptively which helped summarize it and find patterns through percentages. The closed ended questions were coded using a simple numerical coding system. The open-ended questions were categorized into a small set of broad themes and then coded thereafter to give numerical representations on how many times specific themes were repeated. These codes were entered into pivot charts to get the percentages, and graphs were used to detect errors and present information in a simple manner. The researcher explored how the independent variables i.e. Social protection support, Security, Community resource capacity and Cultural orientation influenced Performance of Food security projects. From the findings, all the independent variables greatly affected Performance of Food security projects. All the variables had positive correlations with Social protection support having the highest correlation of 0.734. To attain food security, study recommends that the government and other stakeholders should improve the cash transfer programs. The administration of government and non-governmental organizations should make sure that cash transfer programs consistently distribute money on short intervals to beneficiary households so that these households can make longer-term plans for spending. The Somali government and NGOs could step in to aid by establishing irrigation systems and providing other services for agricultural extension like training and capacity building. The government should also make sure that residents of the community can easily access necessary services. To improve the effectiveness of programmes aimed at ensuring food security in Central and South Somalia, the capacity to share information must be increased.