Does participation in a social security scheme improve household dietary diversity?

Social protection in the form of cash transfer is emerging as a policy objective to solve the problem of poverty and food insecurity in developing countries. However, the extent to which this is feasible is yet to be empirically examined. This study was therefore carried out to assess the effect of the Ekiti State Social Security Scheme (ESSSS) on the dietary diversity of beneficiary households in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The study employed a three-stage random sampling technique to collect data from 200 respondents using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) in terciles and the Poisson Maximum Likelihood Estimator were the main analytical tools employed for the study. The result of the Poisson maximum likelihood estimator at p ≤ 0.05 showed that access to the Ekiti State Social Security Scheme (ESSSS), years of education and total monthly income were found to significantly influence household dietary diversity. The study concluded that the Ekiti State Social Security Scheme (ESSSS) has a positive effect on household dietary diversity of beneficiaries. It was recommended that the government should endeavour to increase the number of beneficiaries of the programme and organize nutrition-oriented programmes for the elderly people to improve the food substitution knowledge of the households.