Abstract:
Despite economic growth and improvements in living standards, food and nutrition
security are still major socio-economic problems in Tanzania. In Tanzania, food and
nutrition security are achieved through agricultural production where women are main
participants. However, their contribution is underestimated due to social barriers and
gender biases. This study was conducted to assess the contribution of women to
household food and nutrition security in Chamwino District, Dodoma region. Cross
sectional research design was used. Primary data was collected using a semi-structured
questionnaire. Multistage sampling technique was used to select the study area and simple
random sampling was used to select the respondents. Data was analyzed using descriptive
statistics, food consumption score (FCS-N) and linear regression. The major findings
were the women‘s awareness of food security was limited to only one dimension of food
security being food availability. Nevertheless, the women understood household nutrition
security as the consumption of enough food regardless of the food nutrient adequacy. The
food consumption score for the households surveyed was 16.1 indicating poor diet
consumption. The FCS-N showed that most household‘s consumption patterns and
dietary diversity relied on single food groups such as staples, pulses and fruits, which
does not constitute a balanced diet. Results further show that age, education, income,
household size and economic activities significantly influenced women‘s contribution to
household food and nutrition security. Therefore, the study recommends on the
importance of improving food supply chains in the study area so as to enhance nutritious
food accessibility. The women‘s awareness of the concepts should be advanced through
conducting trainings. Other household members should be educated on the importance of
food and nutrition security so as to consider consumption of balanced diet. The women
should also be trained on modern techniques to improve performance of their food roles
thus prevention of nutrient loss.
