THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY AMONG SMALL SCALE FARMERS IN GEDARIF AND RAHAD LOCALITIES OF EASTERN SUDAN

The study aims to assess the role of women in household food security among small scale farmers in Gedarif and Rahad localities "high agriculture production area" from eastern Sudan. Data used relies heavily on the results of sample survey of 336 households covered 8 villages collected during 2014. Analytical techniques employed included descriptive statistics and multinomial regression model. The study has shown that, significant positive effect of household who have a woman contributing in food processing and a household who live in Gedarif locality, a household who have a women contributing in farm activities, a household who have a woman engaging in income generation activities, have significant potential importance for increasing household food security in the study area. Therefore, based on the findings in this study, the major policy implication is that, based on the crucial role of women in this context can greatly be enhanced through adoption of supportive national and local development policies, such as agriculture reform, create non-farm income opportunities for women, especially in rural areas where most of population live. Access land in support of women, micro credit, technology, extension, training, empowering and advocacy of women, and raising their capacity building to manage their small income generation activities and followup.