Rural urbanization and food in/security: a case study of Bugesera district

Abstract

This research was about rural urbanization and food in/security, a case study of Bugesera District. This research used entitlement theory of Amartya Sen’s (1980:9). Sen underlined that every human being is entitled to access on food, water, and other basic needs. The failure to achieve their endowment leads to people starvation and hunger. The general objective was to determine how rural-urbanization affects food in/security, Case study of Bugesera District while the specific objectives were to find out the factors of rural urbanization in Bugesera District, to investigate on how rural urbanization affects food in/security in Bugesera District and to suggest the possible measures to enhance both adequate rural urbanization and food in/security in Bugesera District. This study adopted descriptive design by using qualitative approach. The purposive sampling was adapted to select 12 respondents. Data collection tools were interview as well as documentation and analyzed by using thematic analysis. The main factors of rural urbanization in Bugesera District are unemployment or underemployment in rural areas, low wages and lack of land. Regarding the effect of rural urbanization on food in/security in Bugesera District. The findings revealed that rural-urbanization affect food availability, accessibility and utilization which are characterized by low food supply, anxiety about food supply, uncertainty about future food supply and lack of choice of what to eat due to high price of food. About the possible measures to enhance both adequate rural urbanization and food security in Bugesera District, the finding indicated that the best strategies are modern agriculture, promoting irrigation for small farmers and addressing urban food insecurity.