FOOD SECURITY STRATEGIES UNDER EXTREMELY ADVERSE CONDITIONS - THE DETERMINANTS OF HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND CONSUMPTION IN RURAL MOZAMBIQUE

This paper uses household survey data from war-torn northern Mozambiqu e to examine the factors associated with higher incomes and improved r ural household food security. Incomes and calorie consumption were fou nd to be low and variable in each district, and both are highly correl ated with land holdings. The central role of land holdings is largely a result of serious market failure. Food market participation rates an d the proportion of net buyers are lower than in other sub-Saharan Afr ica (SSA) research. Purchased food as a percentage of total caloric in take and off-farm income as a percentage of total income are both very low by SSA standards. In short, surveyed smallholders have adopted a strategy of marked reliance on farm-based own production to ensure the ir survival. It is suggested that land holdings will continue to be ke y determinants of household income and consumption for the foreseeable future. Broad-based rural development efforts, possibly organized aro und existing cotton-growing enterprises, may offer one way out of the poverty trap for smallholders.