Preventing households from food insecurity in rural Burkina Faso: Does nonfarm income matter?

Engaging in nonfarm activities has been considered an important strategy to increase household income in rural Burkina Faso. However, the empirical evidence on how income from nonfarm activities contributes to household food security in the country is limited. Relying on nationwide household panel data and an instrumental variable approach, this study shows that income from nonfarm activities positively affects household food stability and overall food expenditure. The share of food expenditure is also found to be negatively associated with income from nonfarm activities, suggesting an improvement in households' economic status. This evidence has crucial policy implications for food security in rural Burkina Faso, where households face severe income shocks due to both climatic variability and poor investments in agriculture. [EconLit Citations: O13, O55, Q12, Q18].

Automated summary

Income from nonfarm activities positively affects household food security in rural Burkina Faso and improves the households' economic status.