food security and livelihoods needs assessment

7/23/2019 Food Security and Livelihoods Needs Assessment

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Food security and livelihoods needs assessment

1. Objectives of assessment and methodology used.

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01.09.2013

Main objective:

The purpose of the assessment was to provide an overview of the food

security situation in areas with high refugee concentration, as well as to

assess current opportunities for livelihoods development to meet the

income needs of vulnerable Syrian refugee and Jordanian host communitypopulations.

FSLA needs assessment (May 2013)

Main objective



Dates for data collection: two weeks between 19 May and 2 June 2013.

Location: Mafraq, Irbid, Zarqa, Balqa, Ajloun and Jarash.

Tools used: Data collected at household level using structured interviews

with the household members. Key informants discussions were conducted to

evaluate the market systems including factors affecting pricing, access and

food availability, through key-informants interviews.


Methodology

01.09.2013




Methodology

Sample size:

• The sample size was calculated using sample size calculator

with error margin of 6% and confidence level of 95%.

•

A total of 80 households were interviewed in eachgovernorate, out of which 50% were Syrian and 50%

Jordanians.

• In total, 480 households were interviewed across all six

governorates.




2. Profile of respondents

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01.09.2013

Average Syrian household size was

6.30 persons whereas the average

Jordanian household size was

5.48.

Around 50% of Syrian population

consisted of children below 15

years, pointing to a significant

dependency ratio vis-a-vis

economically active household

members.

41% of the Jordanian population

consisted of children below 15

years, pointing to a significant

dependency ratio.


HH Profile

01.09.2013




3. Key economic indicators

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Income generation

• A considerable proportion

(21%) of Syrian households

did not have any member

providing income to the

household.

21%

62%

6%12%

Number of Persons Involved in IncomeGeneration at Household Level - Syrian

None

Only 1 Male

Only 1 Female

More than 1 Male or Female

4%

71%

17%

8%

Number of Persons Involved in Income

Generation at Household Level - Jordanian

None

Only 1 Male

Only 1 Female

More than 1 Male or Female




Income generation activities

• Syrian communities werehighly dependent onsupport received throughaid actors, such as WFP

vouchers, credit and loan,assistance by other NGOs orcharity, UNHCR cash grants,etc.

• Also, a considerable

proportion of Syrians wereearning income throughunskilled labour.

• Jordanians had moresustainable income sources.

• Skilled employment andsocial security funds were

prevalent occupation typesnoted among Jordanianrespondents.

• Unskilled labour remainedthe second most

widespread incomegeneration means for bothSyrians and Jordanians.



• Interviews revealed that people increasingly resort to negative coping measures

such as selling personal items and also buy food and essential items on credit. This

seems to indicate that the debts of Syrian families are growing.


Income generation activities

01.09.2013

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1

Agriculture

Unskilled Labor

Skilled Self-Employment

Skilled Non Self-Employment

Trader

Home Based Activities

Host Friend Support

Remittance

Savings

UNHCR Cash Grant

Assistance by NGO/Charity

WFP Voucher

Credit/Loan

Selling Assets

Other (Social Security Funds, Professionals, etc.)

Key Income Sources (Syrians and Jordanians)

Syrians

Jordanians




Average Income

• Income for Jordanianhousehold respondents was123% that of Syrianhouseholds, with averages

recorded as 193 JD forJordanians and 156 JD permonth respectively.

• Few Syrians had access to jobs with regular income,and those who did mainlyreceived income through

skilled labour jobs.• The proportion of Jordanian

households with regularsalaries was significant, andthey received it through

skilled non self-employed jobs- government jobs,professional jobs and socialsecurity funds.




Expenditures and Income Gap

• Main monthly expenditureswere food (38%) and shelter(27%) for Syrian families whilefor Jordanians – food (40%),shelter (16%), and education

(11%) were reported.• A high proportion of Syrians

(90%) spent a significantlyhigher amount on rent.

• As a whole, there has beendeficiency of money to coverhousehold expenses due toinsufficient earnings (i.e.expenses greater than

income).• The average monthly

deficiency had been recordedas JD 271 for Syrians and JD294 for Jordanians.

• The proportion of

beneficiaries having adeficiency in earning wasfound to be the same (92%)for both groups.




Average Expenditures

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200

Food

Energy (electricity, gas, etc.)

Water

Residence (rent, home repairs, etc.)

Education

Medical Care

Ceremonies

Transport and Communication

Non-food

Savings

Repayments

Barter

Average Monthly Household Expenditure

Syrians Jordanians




Income versus expenditures

Income versus expendituresSyrians

Income versus expendituresJordanians

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

0 100 200 300 400 500 600

E x p e n d i t u r e

Income




Income versus expenditures, Syrians

-JOD 400

-JOD 300

-JOD 200

-JOD 100

JOD 0

JOD 100

JOD 200

JOD 300

JOD 400

JOD 500

Average Syrian Household Income Average Syrian Household Expenditure Funding Gap (filled by unsustainable, negativeor limited coping mechanisms)

Monthly Income Gap for Syrian Households




4. Food security and food consumption

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• Respondents indicated that

all essential food items

were readily available for

purchasing in local market

places.

• They usually rely on

supermarkets (92%) and

local food stores (8%) to buy

almost all household fooditems.

Shelter and winterization needs assessment

01.09.2013


Market Access and Food availability

01.09.2013

• Key informants interviews

revealed that there is a

trend of steady price

increases, however with no

parallel trend in increasedincome to match.




Food consumption patterns

• Both communities showedsimilar patterns overall,although a significantdifference was observed interms of proportion of

households consumingmeat.

• Overall, meat, fish and fruitconsumptions were poor,though protein-rich food

intake was somewhatmanaged by adding eggsand dairy to the diet – albeitto a variable degree.

0% 50% 100%

Cereals &…

Legumes

Vegetables

Fruits

Meat

Fish/Sea Food

Milk & Dairy…

Oil & Fat

Sugar

Eggs

% of Families Consuming each Item weekly

Food Consumption Patterns of Households

Syrians

Jordania

ns




Food Consumption Score (FCS)

• Food Consumption Score (FCS) plays a vital role in measuring

food security in terms of nutritional diversity.

• It is a composite score based on dietary diversity, food

frequency, and relative nutritional importance of different

food groups.

• It predicts the quantitative dimension of household food

security, defined as having adequate food quantity or calorie

consumption per capita.





• 1% Jordanians and 3% Syrianhouseholds were food insecurewhile 15% Jordanian and 18%Syrian households were at risk.

• Prevailing food insecurity issomewhat attributable to

geographical location –Zarqa,Ajloun and Jerash governorateswere found to have higher foodinsecurity.

• There is a need to follow up withtargeted support aiming at

integrating food security withnutritional awareness among atrisk and food insecurehouseholds.

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Syrians

Jordanians

Syrians Jordanians

Poor Food

Consumption3% 1%

Borderline Food

Consumption18% 15%

Acceptable Food

Consumption

79% 84%

Food Consumption Score - Overall





6%

0%

0%

5%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

5%

5%

18%

11%

35%

74%

95%

84%

90%

95%

82%

86%

85%

86%

85%

84%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Ajloun

Balqa

Irbid

Jarash

Mafraq

Zarqa

Ajloun

Balqa

Irbid

Jarash

Mafraq

Zarqa

S y r i a n s

J o r d a n i a n s

Food Consumption Score - Geographical

Poor Food Consumption Borderline Food Consumption Acceptable Food Consumption




Food Consumption Score (FCS) correlations

• No significant relationship wasobserved between FCS of thetarget communities and theirmonthly household income .

• Even some of the households

with comparatively higherincome found to have poor orborderline food consumption,and vice-versa.

• FCS of the target communitiespositively correlates with themeat, fish and eggconsumption and/or dairyconsumption of the givencommunities.

• Food consumption status ofthese communities wasmostly affected by level oftheir animal proteinconsumption.

• As such, they must beeducated on the importanceof adding animal proteins totheir diets.




Coping mechanisms

• In the most recent 7 daysbefore data collection, 54% ofSyrian and 38% of Jordanianhouseholds had experiencedperiods in which they had notenough food or money to buyfood.

• The households who hadinsufficient food forconsumption also had variouscoping strategies to managethe situation.

•

They were relying on lesspreferred and less expensivefood, buying food on credit,reducing consumption byadults in order for smallchildren to eat, borrowing

food, money to buy food, andlimiting portion sizes atmeals.




5.Livelihoods and employment access

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• Both communities faced

similar obstacles in

accessing employment at

the time of data collection

such as lack of

opportunities, insufficient

skills, lack of access to

funds, and no demand forspecific skills.


Employment Access

01.09.2013

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Lack of employment

opportunities

Inability to get a working permit

Insufficient skills to access job

market

Lack of access to funds to start

own business

No demand for the skills

Challenges in Accessing Jobs

Syrians Jordanians




Key constraints and preference for assistance

• Syrians reported that havinginsufficient or no capital wasthe key constraint to startlivelihood activities. Also, theyhad to have working permits inorder to obtain formal jobs,which are not possible toformally obtain.

• They prefer receiving furtherinformation about obtainingwork permits and employment

opportunities, and also somecapital to start up new incomegeneration activities.

• For Jordanians, not havingopportunities due to highcompetition but less demandwas the most challengingfactor.

•

As such, they prefer receivingfunds for establishing new orimproving existing incomegeneration opportunities suchas small businesses throughthe necessary technical/skill

trainings schemes.




Women’s access to employment

• Women were not involved

in any income generation

usually, with the exception

of 15% for Syrian women

and 26% of Jordanians.

• Teaching, handicrafts,

embroidery, and food

preparation.

• About 64% households of

both communities were

willing to let women

participate in home-based

income generation orrelated trainings.




6. Recommendations

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Recommendations

01.09.2013

• Household levelintervention for promotingfood security targeting foodinsecure and at-riskpopulations is crucial.

• Awareness raisingprograms on nutrition andgood practices, alsoincluding importance andaffordable ways of adding

animal proteins to theirdiets.

• Providing cash assistance topay for basic living costsincluding rent, food,clothes, and basic utilities isessential to prevent resort

to negative copingmechanisms.

• Conditional cash assistancefor Jordanians to establishsmall income generating

activities that can generatea quick economic returnwould be worthwhile forfuture consideration.



Thank you!

food security and livelihoods needs assessment

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