Abstract:
The study on Food Insecurity (FI) in Maputo City, taking the Municipal Districts of KaNyaka
and KaTembe as a case study, was conducted between the first quarter of 2017 and the second
quarter of 2018 and had as specific objectives to determine the levels of FI in these districts,
measure the level of access and consumption of food by the households (HH) and verify the
existence of similarities in the diversity of the food diet of the HH of the Municipal Districts
of KaNyaka and KaTembe. The type of study used was the case study. In terms of approach to
the problem, the mixed method was used. 289 households in KaNyaka and 332 in KaTembe
were selected through a simple random sample with probability proportional to the population
size of each district. The study revealed that the level of Food Insecurity in the districts of
KaNyaka and KaTembe, together in 2017, is around 33%, which is higher than that of the
Municipal Districts of the mainland of Maputo City together and in 2017, which is around
22%. This confirms our view that households in the Municipal Districts of KaNyaka and
KaTembe have higher levels of Food Insecurity than in the districts on the mainland of Maputo
City (KaMavota, KaMubucuane, KaMaxaqueni Kampfumo and NLhamankulu). This gap
reinforces the need and importance of knowledge of Food Security (SA) and InSA in these two
districts. The households in the studied districts have a diversified diet but with similarities in
the type of food they consume, thus confirming our hypothesis about the existence of
similarities in the Dietary Diversity of the households in those districts, as they consume foods
from the same groups. . The differences in the levels of FS and FI are statistically insignificant.
Households surveyed in both districts have similar predictors of severe FI, that is, the factors
that influence FI in the two districts are, in general, the same. One of these factors is the
diversified consumption of vegetables. The cultivation of this type of food is therefore
important to ensure their availability. The average score for both districts is around 25 (26 for
KaNyaka and 24 for KaTembe), so there are no statistically significant differences between the
two districts. The results of the observations made are in line with this assertion, as the type of
food prepared by the observed households generally belongs to the combination of the same
food groups
