Research, Policy and Practice
Table 3 Focus groups’ weighting of consumption coping strategies
Code | Strategy | ‘Weight’ (perceived severity of food insecurity circumstances) | |
|---|---|---|---|
Agro-pastoral | Pastoral | ||
1 | Eat less preferred but less expensive foodsa | 6 | 5 |
2 | Borrow fooda | 3 | 2 |
3 | Beg for food from a friend or relative | 3 | 5 |
4 | Purchase food on credit | 3 | 3 |
5 | Gather wild food plants or hunt | 6 | 5 |
6 | Harvest immature crops | 1 | 5 |
7 | Provide labour in exchange for food | 3 | 3 |
8 | Provide labour for income to buy food instead of preparing own fields | 6 | 3 |
9 | Consume seed stock held for the next season | 6 | 5 |
10 | Slaughter livestock and preserve meat | 1 | 5 |
11 | Sell calves to buy food | 1 | 2 |
12 | Sell breeding cows to buy food | 6 | 5 |
13 | Sell other cattle types to buy food | 1 | 2 |
14 | Sell other livestock to buy food | 1 | 2 |
15 | Sell assets to buy food | 6 | 5 |
16 | Send household members to eat elsewhere | 6 | 5 |
17 | Send household members to beg/fend for themselves | 6 | 5 |
18 | Limit portion size at meal timesa | 3 | 3 |
19 | Restrict consumption of adults in order for small children to eata | 3 | 3 |
20 | Feed working members of HH at the expense of non-working members | 1 | 2 |
21 | Ration the money available and buy pre-cooked food | 3 | 3 |
22 | Reduce the number of meals eaten in a daya | 3 | 3 |
23 | Skip entire days without eating | 6 | 5 |
24 | Barter (exchange an item for food) | 6 | 5 |
25 | Send children out to labour and earn to buy food | 6 | 5 |
26 | Send girl children for early marriage | 6 | 5 |
27 | Reduce the number of people in the household, e.g. send to a relative | 6 | 5 |