Table 4.
Baseline characteristics of SAFE participant and community samples, by conditions (intervention vs. control)
| Characteristics | SAFE participant sample | P value | Random community sample | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAFE intervention | Control group | SAFE intervention area | Control area | |||
| Demographics | N = 598 | N = 301 | N = 501 | N = 501 | ||
| Female participants (%) | 398 (66.6) | 201 (66.8) | .947 | 334 (66.7) | 327 (65.5) | .704 |
| Mean age of respondent in years (range) | 40.4 (18–84) | 38.5 (19–86) | .040* | 38.6 (17–84) | 38.2 (3–98) | .658 |
| Mean household size (range) | 5.3 (1–11) | 6.3 (2–14) | .001* | 4.6 (1–13) | 4.9 (1–12) | .021* |
| Male head of household | 495 (82.8) | 265 (88.0) | .039* | 402 (80.24) | 421 (84.2) | .101 |
| Head of household literate | 472 (78.9) | 236 (78.4) | .856 | 375 (75.2) | 363 (72.9) | .416 |
| Marital status | .085 | .021* | ||||
| Currently married/living together | 492 (82.3) | 261 (86.7) | 385 (77.0) | 404 (80.8) | ||
| Separated | 21 (3.5) | 9 (3.0) | 18 (3.6) | 8 (1.60) | ||
| Divorced | 19 (3.2) | 11 (3.7) | 48 (9.6) | 27 (5.4) | ||
| Widowed | 54 (9.0) | 20 (6.6) | 44 (8.8) | 54 (10.8) | ||
| Never married | 12 (2.00) | 0 (0) | 5 (1.0) | 7 (1.4) | ||
| Education (highest level of school) | .122 | .353 | ||||
| Primary | 447 (74.7) | 225 (74.8) | 366 (73.2) | 383 (76.9) | ||
| Secondary | 81 (13.5) | 28 (9.3) | 62 (12.4) | 49 (9.8) | ||
| University | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (0.2) | ||
| Other | 2 (0.3) | 1 (0.3) | 0 | 0 | ||
| Never went to school | 68 (11.4) | 47 (15.6) | 72 (14.4) | 65 (13.1) | ||
| Have multiple spouses (%) | 68 (21.8) | 41 (24.3) | .537 | 42 (16.7) | 57 (22.5) | .097 |
| N of missing | 286 | 132 | 249 | 248 | ||
| Most important source of livelihood | .688 | .140 | ||||
| Crop farming | 541 (90.5) | 277 (92.0) | 443 (88.4) | 440 (87.8) | ||
| Casual labor/ganyu | 16 (2.7) | 11 (3.7) | 36 (7.2) | 30 (6.0) | ||
| Most important cash income source | .025* | .001* | ||||
| Crop farming | 372 (62.2) | 203 (67.4) | 285 (57.0) | 356 (71.1) | ||
| Casual labor/gangyu | 72 (12.0) | 33 (11.0) | 105 (21.0) | 79 (15.8) | ||
| Trading/selling | 17 (5.6) | 64 (10.7) | 31 (6.20) | 37 (7.39) | ||
| Food insecurity (≥one month with insufficient food, past 12 months) | 426 (71.2) | 218 (72.7) | .654 | 378 (75.4) | 384 (76.8) | .616 |
| Ever tested for HIV | 316 (52.8) | 195 (64.8) | .001* | 323 (64.7) | 291 (58.6) | .045* |
| Self-report HIV-positive test | 17 (5.6) | 11 (5.8) | .929 | 21 (6.6) | 10 (3.5) | .084 |
| Practice/applying sustainable agriculture methods | ||||||
| Compost manure | 289 (48.3) | 131 (43.5) | .001* | 160 (32.0) | 104 (20.8) | .001* |
| Kraal manure | 348 (58.2) | 161 (53.5) | .001* | 221 (44.2) | 220 (43.9) | .745 |
| Crop residue/vegetation incorporation | 303 (50.7) | 133 (44.2) | .013* | 183 (36.5) | 166 (33.2) | .067 |
| Terracing | 2 (0.3) | 4 (1.3) | .171 | 2 (0.4) | 13 (2.6) | .024* |
| Marker Ridges | 185 (30.9) | 18 (6.0) | .001* | 81 (16.2) | 72 (14.4) | .456 |
| Box ridges | 272 (45.5) | 136 (45.2) | .001* | 92 (18.4) | 87 (17.4) | .686 |
| Dams | 7 (1.2) | 1 (0.33) | .001* | 3 (0.6) | 2 (0.4) | .548 |
| Crop diversification | 561 (93.8) | 273 (90.7) | .063 | 410 (82.0) | 405 (80.8) | .630 |
| Seed multiplication | 274 (45.8) | 87 (28.9) | .001* | 155 (31.1) | 132 (26.3) | .171 |
| Drought tolerant and early maturing crops | 390 (65.2) | 197 (65.4) | .045* | 247 (49.4) | 300 (59.9) | .001* |
| Legumes with cereals | 435(72.7) | 253 (84.1) | .001* | 278 (55.7) | 375 (74.9) | .001* |
| Fruit production | 296 (49.5) | 150 (49.8) | .277 | 218 (43.5) | 263 (52.6) | .004* |
| Vegetable production | 330 (55.2) | 207 (68.8) | .001* | 171 (34.1) | 337 (67.5) | .001* |
| Home gardens-indigenous herbs and vegetables | 63 (10.5) | 25 (8.3) | .155 | 27 (5.4) | 83 (16.6) | .001* |
| Cover cropping | 3 (0.5) | 0 (0) | .219 | 6 (1.2) | 13 (2.6) | .082 |
| Crop rotation | 546 (91.3) | 275 (91.4) | .351 | 375 (74.9) | 418 (83.4) | .002* |
| Irrigation farming | 252 (42.1) | 186 (61.8) | .001* | 158 (31.7) | 308 (61.6) | .001* |
| Improved grain storage | 340 (56.9) | 195 (64.8) | .039* | 300 (59.9) | 336 (67.1) | .039* |
* = p<.05.