IMPACT OF COMMUNITY-BASED RURAL CEREAL BANKS (CBRCBs) ON HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY IN KADUNA AND KATSINA STATES, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study uses a cross-sectional research design from primary data collected from 836 farming households (418 CBRCB participants and 418 non- participants) in Kaduna and Katsina States. Descriptive statistics were used to assess socio-economic characteristics and determinants of participation.  The findings revealed that the majority of CBRCB participants are male (76.6%), indicating a male-biased participation structure in rural agricultural intervention programmes with active middle-aged dominance (mean 42.6 years). Married participants (84.5%) are the leading members of the study, which underscores the household-based motivation behind CBRCB participation. Determinants of participation included education (OR = 1.08), cooperative membership (OR = 3.17), access to credit (OR = 2.70), extension contact (OR = 1.50), and awareness of CBRCB programs (OR = 3.60).  Binary logistic regression model and Propensity Score Matching (PSM) with covariate balance diagnostics were used to assess the causal impact of CBRCB participation on household food security, income, and living standards.  The findings further revealed that CBRCB participants exhibited significantly higher food security outcomes compared to non-participants. The consistent difference across all indicators shows how community cereal banks and associated capacity-building interventions mitigate food insecurity among participants. This aligns with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, 2023). The Food Availability Index improved by 34.1% (ATT = 0.145, p < 0.01), household annual income increased by 31.6% (ATT = 0.275, p < 0.01), and the Living Standard Index rose by 21.6% (ATT = 8.9, p < 0.01) among participants. Across all five food groups, participants reported significantly higher consumption frequencies than non-participants, as confirmed by the t-values (ranging from 2.03 to 6.12) and p-values below 0.05.

CBRCBs signify an effective community-driven intervention for enhancing household food availability, income, and living standards in rural farming communities. However, governance weaknesses, leadership gaps, and external threats such as input price inflation and insecurity require policy attention to ensure sustainable institutional performance and equitable participation, particularly among women and resource-poor farmers.