Investigating the Role of Aquaculture in Household Food Security and Dietary Diversity in Rural Communities of Ebonyi State

The contribution of small-scale fish farming to household food security and dietary diversity at the community level in South East Nigeria has not been empirically quantified, limiting the ability of policymakers to justify and design targeted aquaculture investment programmes. This study investigates the relationship between household fish farming activity and food security status, measured by the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale, and dietary diversity, measured by the Women's Dietary Diversity Score, in 400 rural households across four Local Government Areas in Ebonyi State. A cross-sectional survey design was used, with 200 fish farming households and 200 non-farming households matched by location and wealth quintile. Structured questionnaires were administered to adult female household heads on food access, dietary diversity over the previous 24 hours, fish production and consumption, and income generation from aquaculture. Binary logistic regression was used to model the odds of food insecurity, controlling for wealth, household size, and educational level. Results showed that fish farming households had significantly lower odds of food insecurity (OR = 0.54; 95% CI: 0.37 to 0.79) and higher mean dietary diversity scores than matched non-farming households. Own-produced fish was consumed in fish farming households on average 4.2 days per week, contributing significantly to household animal protein intake. Fish sales income reduced economic vulnerability during lean seasons. The study provides empirical evidence of the food security and dietary benefits of small-scale aquaculture for rural households in Ebonyi State.

Keywords: food security, dietary diversity, small-scale aquaculture, Ebonyi State, household nutrition