Abstract
Feed the Future is a global hunger and food security initiative which aims to refocus attention on addressing the root causes of global food insecurity, including agricultural development and nutrition. Led by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), this initiative reflects a coordinated focus on building productive, resilient agricultural systems throughout 19 countries in need, including Tanzania. Emphasis is placed on smallholder farmers and women in particular who are making progress towards the development of sustainable agriculture sectors. As food security plays a critical role in poverty reduction, Feed the Future has been made a primary development assistance tool in the reduction of poverty.
In Tanzania, Feed the Future efforts are focused on improving agricultural productivity and market access, increasing trade, and improving the nutritional status of children through promotion of fortified foods and behavior change. For maximum impact, the Feed the Future initiative has targeted its investments in six regions in the country considered to be the Zone of Influence (ZOI): Dodoma, Manyara, Morogoro, Mbeya, Iringa, and all three areas of Unguja in Zanzibar.
The Feed the Future Interim Supplemental Survey (FTFISS) was developed to measure and elaborate on consumption habits in Tanzania, and to provide a more comprehensive view of the food security situation in the country. Additionally, this project provides a valuable opportunity to expand upon food security information gathered in the Tanzania National Panel Survey (NPS), as questionnaire themes in the FTFISS were modeled to reflect those topics considered central to the comprehension of food security. To further enhance value of this expansion, only NPS households residing in the ZOI regions targeted by the Feed the Future initiative were chosen to participate in the FTFISS project. NPS households in these six regions were tracked and re-interviewed following conclusion of the 2014/2015 NPS.
The 2014/2015 NPS was the fourth round in a series of nationally representative household panel surveys that collect information on a wide range of topics including agricultural production, non-farm income generating activities, consumption expenditures, and a wealth of other socio-economic characteristics. All four rounds of the NPS were implemented by the Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) with assistance provided by the World Bank through the Living Standards Measurement Study - Integrated Surveys on Agriculture [LSMS-ISA ] program.
