Food Security, Subsistence Agriculture, and Working’s Model

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter examines whether donor investments in a market channel that rewards product quality increase food security in Rwanda. Specifically, do policy interventions that improve marketing channels increase the price received by farmers also increases smallholder income? Furthermore, does this increase in income improve food security?

Methodology/approach

To examine the effect of the policy intervention, we estimates the relationship between the share of income spent on food and income (Working’s Model) using ordinary least squares and a logit regression.

Findings

The empirical results support Working’s conjecture (i.e., the share of income spent on food declines as income increases). Furthermore, whether the household benefits from the improved market channel does not affect the share of income spent on food.

Practical implications

Increased household income appears to improve food security. However, the lack of a statistically significant effect of the policy intervention variable indicates that commercial agriculture does not eliminate household food production at home.

Citation

Moss, C.B., Oehmke, J.F. and Lyambabaje, A. (2016), "Food Security, Subsistence Agriculture, and Working’s Model", Food Security in a Food Abundant World (Frontiers of Economics and Globalization, Vol. 16), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 19-32. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1574-871520150000016013