Gendered Analysis of Food Security Gaps in Rural Nepal

2017

This paper assesses household food security and identifies the factors affecting it in two mountainous districts of Nepal using census data from 2011/12. A binary logit model has been used because the dependent variable is dichotomous. In the study districts, farmland expansion was the major contributor to the increased production of major crops over the period 1974/75 to 2013/14. The yield growth of major crops, with the exception of potato and wheat, remained below the population growth in these districts. On average, households experienced no food shortages for about 9 months out of the year; cultivated land per household was 0.63 ha, of which around 29% was irrigated; 22% of the households were female headed; and 60% of the households worked in allied activities alongside agriculture. The results show that household food security was positively affected by the following variables: male-headed household, household members with both agricultural and allied occupation, age of the h...

2017

How are development projects dealing with agrarian poverty and gender issues in the North of West-Bengal, India? Need to balance credit initiatives with enabling socio-cultural solidarity among women on issues like household and childcare workload, dowry, boy child preference, domestic violence, patrilocal post-marriage challenges etc. Support and facilitate nontraditional, gender transformatory activities. Focus efforts on landless women to generate income opportunities, proposing vocational training, marketing support and social empowerment. Address women's domestic workload to reduce household tensions created by SHG commitments. Remuneration for key post holders could improve representation by the poorest as well as improve group mobilization and organisation. Improve market access for women through practical changes, e.g. water and sanitation facilities for women, organized transport. Develop accessible manuals on

Nature Food, 2020

Women form an integral part of the agricultural sector, and in much of South Asia women make up a majority of the agricultural workforce, often compelled to work in order to meet their families' basic needs. While their contributions are recognised as central to the food and nutrition security of households and communities, their work is not recognized or supported adequately by public policy and social institutions. Women continue to face inequality across key development indicators including health, education, and nutrition; discriminatory laws; and high levels of precarity in terms of income, employment conditions, safety and wellbeing. Social structures that promote gender inequality and inhibit the agency of women contribute to the South Asian enigma-the persistence of undernutrition despite economic growth-and must be addressed to achieve food and nutrition security.

All over the world, unequal access to resources and power is central to discrimination against women in the state, community, market, and even within their households. Correcting this disparity is vital to realize women's right to food. Discrimination in the distribution of food leads to increased malnutrition, which can reduce learning potential, increase reproductive and maternal health risks, and lower productivity. These factors reduce women's economic abilities, undermining gender equality and conning women in a vicious circle of poverty and under-nutrition. Though the position of a girl child has been stressed time and again, yet a wide level of disparity still exists, whether implicit or explicit, in nutrition and child care both in rural and urban areas. Various underlying factors are responsible for this disparity. Girls face discrimination from the moment she born. They are discriminating even on the distribution of food. Food availability does not always ensure equal access to the entire family member. Even today, the discrimination of food and nutrition depends on the old age tradition and norms set by the communities. Therefore, this study was conducted to record the gender disparity in the distribution of food among school-age children in a rural community with the objectives of comparing the gender disparity in the distribution of food among school-age children (6-19 years) in rural areas. And to assess the different socio-demographic factors affecting the gender disparity. A school-based study was conducted in Kavrapalonchok district, Bagmati Pradesh of Nepal.

Food and nutrition bulletin

This paper operationalizes household food security and links it to household food consumption patterns in rural Nepal. Food security has long been used as a macro-level indicator of agricultural stability by both agricultural and economic researchers. However, little work has been done to operationalize it at the household level. We view household food security as reflecting three different dimensions: past food supply, current food stores, and future supply of food adequate to meet the needs of all household members. A key method is the construction of scales that capture these different aspects of household food security. When operationalized in this way, household food security is associated with increased consumption of non-staple foods in this setting. Past household food security is associated with increased frequency of meat consumption and increased variety of food consumed. Current household food security predicts a higher frequency of meat and dairy intake and greater dietary variety. Future household food security is associated with increased total dietary variety and future consumption of dairy products. We feel that this conceptual approach to assessing household food security, i.e., the use of scales to measure past, current, and future components of food security, can be used as a framework in other settings.

in 1975, provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition. IFPRI's strategic research aims to foster a climate-resilient and sustainable food supply; promote healthy diets and nutrition for all; build inclusive and efficient markets, trade systems, and food industries; transform agricultural and rural economies; and strengthen institutions and governance. Gender is integrated in all the Institute's work. Partnerships, communications, capacity strengthening, and data and knowledge management are essential components to translate IFPRI's research from action to impact. The Institute's regional and country programs play a critical role in responding to demand for food policy research and in delivering holistic support for country-led development. IFPRI collaborates with partners around the world.

SAARC Journal of Agriculture

Using the agricultural census data of 2011/12, this paper has attempted to identify the determinants of household level food security in the eastern region of Nepal. Being the censored type sample population, tobit model has been used. On an average, the households experienced no food shortages for 8.5 months, the cultivated land per household was 0.85 hectare and around 34 percent of the cultivated land was irrigated. The results showed that the size of the land holding, nearness to the market, male headed household, households members with agriculture and allied occupation and the educational level of household head were positive and significant variables while household size was negative and significant variable to food security. It was also revealed that the hills and the mountains were more food insecure than Terai region. Hence, investment in human capital, creation of off-farm employment opportunities, increasing physical access through markets and roads development and access to land and augmenting their quality are needed to further improve the food security situation. Similarly, special programs should be implemented targeting female headed households as they are more food insecure than male headed households.

2006

The food security scenario in South Asia has witnessed rapid progress over the last few decades, yet nutrition outcomes, especially those related to women and children, have failed to keep pace. This paper contends that the role of women in providing food and nutrition security at the household and individual level needs to be examined, if the paradox of persisting malnutrition amid macro level food sufficiency is to be resolved. Food security, in its broader connotation, results from the availability of adequate food, effective consumption, and desirable nutrition outcomes. As such, it is intricately linked with a woman’s multiple roles expressed in her productive, reproductive, and caring functions. However, even focussed efforts aimed at resolving the problems faced by women in performing one or other of their roles, may fail to produce expected results, if the issues underlying each function and their inter-linkages are not fully understood. The paper thus attempts to review var...

Journal of Institute of Science and Technology, 2019

Nepal has been persistently encountering food insecurity and under-nutrition. It is therefore utmost important to determine the factors responsible for influencing food insecurity in Nepal. This study examines the factors determining food insecurity in Nepal applying binary logistic models for food poverty, household with inadequate food consumption and poor dietary diversity using data from Nepal Living Standard Survey 2010/11. Food security was determined to be strongly associated with education level and age of household head, household with higher female education level, larger farm size with higher ratio of irrigated land, better access to markets, roads and cooperatives, better household assets and remittance recipient households. Food insecure is relatively more prevalent in rural areas with higher dependent on rainfed agriculture, higher dependency ratio and larger family size. Improving both physical and economic access to foods, together with investment in education and agriculture could help to reduce food insecurity and hunger from Nepal.

The study reveals that 10.2% of the sampled households in Nepal suffer from chronic food insecurity, i.e., neither are they able to produce sufficient food from their farms nor earn the food security threshold income for deficit months. With the highest and the lowest exponential value of coefficient obtained from binary logistic regression model, it is concluded that any program targeting occupational caste and small landholding farm category or landless will contribute significantly to reduce food insecurity. The provision of employment opportunities for economically active age group, thus, reducing dependency ratio from 1.2 (economically active population) to 0.7 (economically active age group) can also contribute significantly to reduce food insecurity. Significant positive coefficient of family size squared shows the increase in the probability of being foodinsecure with the increase in family size. In addition, an increase in irrigation availability can contribute significantly to reduce food insecurity. A significant proportion of male-headed households and households residing in Tarai are food-secure. This justifies the need to target female-headed households and households residing in Mountain and Hill in any program aimed at resolving food insecurity. A negative and significant association of household’s participation in community organizations and food insecurity fortifies the need for inclusion of vulnerable groups such as occupational caste, female-headed households, households with illiterate heads, small landholding farm category or landless, and households residing in Mountain and Hill (including some target communities in Tarai) in community organizations. Furthermore, making these communities a target of food security programs can help significantly to reduce the incidence of food insecurity.