Assessment of food price hike on the nutritional wellbeing of residents in Ilorin West local Government, Kwara State, Nigeria

Awoyemi, A.O.; Adigun, S.O.; Ibrahim-Olesin, S.; Ayegbusi, O.O.; Salami, M.F.

doi:10.21608/svuijas.2023.247628.1316

Assessment of food price hike on the nutritional wellbeing of residents in Ilorin West local Government, Kwara State, Nigeria

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria

² Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension Programme, Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, Ebonyi State, Nigeria

³ Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Dev., Federal University Oye Ekiti, Nigeria

⁴ Department of Agricultural Economics and Farm Management, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria

10.21608/svuijas.2023.247628.1316

Abstract

This study assessed food price hikes on the nutritional well-being of residents in Ilorin West local government, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. The study used stratified and simple random techniques to select one hundred and eighteen (118) respondents in Ilorin West. Descriptive statistical tools such as frequencies, percentages, and mean were used to analyze the data, while Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) was used to test the hypothesis. Findings revealed that the majority (81.4%) of the respondents were married. The majority (66.9%) had tertiary education and the average family size was 5 persons. The majority of the respondents eat food substances that are rich in the required nutrients such as fiber /roughages (M=4.42), Vitamin A (M=4.30), and starchy food (M=4.27). It was revealed that the nutritional level was low as it was reported that respondents are not free from food insecurity and hunger (M=2.32); and do not have good sleep time due to nutrition (M=2.31). Results showed that food price hikes contribute to an increase in muscular weakness and fatigue as a result of poor diet. The study revealed that there was a significant relationship between socioeconomic characteristics and level of nutritional well-being (p ≤ 0.05). The study concluded that the overall nutritional well-being of respondents was low, indicating that access to nutritious food doesn't necessarily translate into improved nutritional status. Therefore, it was recommended that the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with local educational institutions and community health organizations should develop and implement nutritional education programs to promote healthy dietary habits.

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