Abstract
Nigeria is blessed with abundant natural and fishery resources, but fish-catching activities are mostly done with crude tools. This results in relatively low fish catches and increased household food insecurity. The study examined socio-economic determinants influencing artisanal fishers’ household food security in Ogun Waterside Local Government Area. Fifty percent of the sampling frames (active 167 artisanal fishers) were selected from three fishing communities in the study area and a total of 84 artisanal fishers were randomly selected. The interview guide was used to elicit relevant data from the artisanal fishers’. Household food security was measured at interval level using the United State Department of Agriculture Household Food Security Scale Module (HFSSM), as ‘Always’, ‘Sometimes’ and ‘Rarely’ were referred to as ‘Yes’ and transformed to ‘Affirmative’ (1) and never to ‘Negative’ (0). Artisanal fisher scores were categorized into three: food secure (0-2), low food insecure (3-7) and very low food insecure (8-18). Data were analyzed using descriptive, inferential statistics (multiple linear regression). Results showed that 56.7% of the artisanal fishers’ were male, 50.0% of the artisanal fishers’ were in their productive age of 35 to 45 years, and 81.0% of the artisanal fishers’ had an average of 4 persons per household size. Also, 82.1% of artisanal fishers’ were full-time artisanal fishers. Gill nets (86.9%) were mostly used to capture fish, 52.4 percent of the artisanal fishers’ were food insecure. Multiple linear regression revealed that artisanal fishers’ age, education, residency years, and access to credit were the socioeconomic determinants that influenced household food security; therefore, the study recommended the need for targeted interventions to improve the artisanal fishers’ food security and overall well-being.