Abstract

M. S. Mashinini, M. M. Sithole and M. L. Mabuza

The objective of the study was to determine the contribution of input trade fairs (ITFs) to household food security in rural Swaziland. Given the prevailing drought condition, a number of interventions, including ITFs, have been attempted to mitigate the effects of natural disasters on the livelihoods of rural households. Through a survey of 92 randomly selected households, a regression model was used, where amongst other factors influencing net food availability, was a dummy variable indicating whether a household was a recipient or non-recipient of ITFs. Having tested for structural stability on whether the regression for recipients differs from that of non-recipients in terms of intercepts and coefficients, homogeneity and autocorrelation, the analytical results indicated that ITFs significantly contribute to household net food availability. The study, therefore, recommends that ITFs can be considered as a temporary measure to respond to the current food crisis. The long-term solution, however, lies with the full implementation of Swaziland’s newly formulated Food Security Policy.