Food Insecurity and Vulnerability in Rural Burkina Faso : An Approach Using a Stereotype Logistic Regression Model

The regularity of the food crises in the countries of the Sahel challenges more one on the need for looking further into the studies on the food risk of insecurity. This study thus proposes to study the food vulnerability of the rural populations in Burkina Faso. This not only in terms of consumption of energy as suggested by Ouedraogo et al. (2007), but in terms of risk of a household to know the phenomenon being given its socio-economic and demographic characteristics. The study use dated from the permanent agricultural survey of 2006 conducted in rural areas by the Directorate of Foresight, Foods and Agricultural Statistics of Burkina Faso. Using the approach of the World Food Programme, three levels of vulnerability were built on the basis of total dietary energy available of the rural households. The stereotype logistic regression model proposed by Anderson (1984) allowed the estimate of the food risk of insecurity and the identification of its explanatory factors. It arises from the estimates that the size of the farm and the activities of diversification are the key variables of the food vulnerability of the households. In a specific way the size of the farm contributes to reduce by 33 percent the risk of extreme vulnerability of the rural households. The results challenge the authorities on the need for improving the agricultural outputs but also to encourage the mechanisms of solidarity as well as the activities of diversification such as gardening, handicraft and the gathering