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Food Security Strategies Followed by the Ultra Poor Households in Two Flood Prone Areas of Bangladesh

M. H. Rahman
Department of Agricultural Extension Education, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh

S. Rana
Department of Agricultural Extension Education, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh

F. Khatun
Department of Agricultural Extension Education, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh

A. H. Munna
Department of Agricultural Extension Education, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

The study was undertaken to investigate the food security strategies followed by the ultra poor households in two flood prone areas of Bangladesh. The study was conducted in Brahmaputra-Jamuna flood prone area (Jamalpur district) and Haor area (Kishoreganj district). As the locale of the study two villages were selected from Dewanganj and Islampur upazilas of Jamalpur district while two villages were also selected from Tarail and Itna upazilas of Kishoreganj district. Data were collected from 300 ultra poor households during May to August 2009. Questionnaire survey and seasonal diagramming were conducted as the data collection methods. The common food security related coping strategies of ultra poor in the selected flood prone areas were: (i) relying upon less expensive or less preferred food items, (ii) reducing amount of food per meal, (iii) reducing number of meals per day, (iv) reducing adult consumption for the sake of children, (v) purchasing or borrowing food on credit, (vi) borrowing money from NGOs or Grameen Bank, (vii) borrowing from local moneylenders, and (viii) migration to city or other areas for livelihood opportunities. The occasionally practiced coping strategies were: (i) relying on causal labour for food, (ii) discontinuing children’s education for saving money or alternative employment, (iii) selling cattle and/or livestock, (iv) spending money from deposit, (v) borrowing money or food from neighbours/relatives, (vi) relying on help from relatives and neighbours, (vii) eating of household members at relatives and neighbours, (viii) selling advance labour, (ix) involve family members in income earning activities, and (x) selling land and other assets.

Keywords: Food security, Coping strategies, Flood prone areas, Haor area, Ultra poor

Location: Brahmaputra-Jamuna flood prone area (Jamalpur district) and Haor area (Kishoreganj district)

Start Date: 00-05-2009

End Date: 00-08-2009

Program Area: Food Safety and Security

Non-commodity: Insurance

Objectives:

1. To investigate the food security strategies followed by the ultra poor households in two flood prone areas of Bangladesh.

Methodology:

Locale of the study: The study was conducted in two flood prone regions of Bangladesh that included the Brahmaputra-Jamuna flood prone region (Jamalpur district) and haor region (Kishoreganj district). Data for the research work were to be collected from ultra poor labourer and farming household members of these two regions. In Jamalpur district, the specific study areas were Dakatia village under Dewanganj upazila and Dover Char under Islampur upazila, while in Kishoreganj district Damiha village under Tarail upazila and Madhyagram village under Itna upazila were included as the specific study areas. Population and sample of the study: For the present research, a working definition of ultra poor was developed to select the study population and sample. In a slight modification of the definition used by BRAC’s Targeting Ultra Poor Programme, the households were selected as ultra poor were those who (i) owned total land less than 10 decimal, (ii) had no productive assets, (iii) was dependent upon physical labour of the male or female domestic work or begging, (iv) did not have other adult active members in the household, and (v) might have school aged children who were selling labourer. Apart from these five mentioned criteria, a farmer was considered ultra poor if she/he had no own land (or less than 10 decimal) and lived on only sharecropping (borga) of other’s land (but land under borga didn’t exceed 50 decimal). Following the above-mentioned criteria, a total of 667 ultra poor households were identified as the population of the study in the selected study areas. Among the population, 300 ultra poor households (150 from Jamalpur and 150 from haor area of Kishoreganj district) were randomly selected as the sample of the study. Measurement of variables: Food security strategies followed by ultra poor in the flood prone areas was the main focus of the study. Twenty one probable coping strategies were primarily selected through literature review and consultation with a number of key-informants. Among those, on the basis of the experience gained in pre-testing of interview schedule and further discussion of the concerned experts, 18 strategies were finally considered for data collection. The coping strategies were arranged in a 4-point continuum (frequently, less frequently, rarely, not at all) in order to perceive a respondent’s extent of practice of the strategies. Data collection: Both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection were employed. A personal interview schedule (structured questionnaire) was used to collect data from the respondents. Besides the questionnaire survey, qualitative methods such as focus group discussion and seasonal diagramming were used for collection necessary information from the respondents. The data were collected from April through September, 2009.

Source of Information: J. Environ. Sci. & Natural Resources, 3(1): 7 -10, 2010; ISSN 1999-7361

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

People of Bangladesh have to live with disasters. The ultra poor people of the flood prone areas had no way to adopt appropriate coping strategies towards food security. As the ultra poor have low coping ability to withstand the damage of disasters and seasonal shocks, the government should undertake appropriate policy measures to help the ultra poor to get rid of their food insecurity situation during and after the flood period.

Knowledge Management: Journal