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Determinants of Food Insecurity Status of Fisheries Community in Coastal Regions of Bangladesh

Sabikun Nahar Himi
Department of Agricultural and Applied Statistics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh-2202

Mohammad Amirul Islam
Department of Agricultural and Applied Statistics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh-2202

Shankar Majumder
Department of Agricultural and Applied Statistics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh-2202

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Food insecurity is a notable state of the well-being of people. However, the common determinants of food insecurity have nevertheless to be formally known, especially for the coastal region. This study aims to investigate the demographic and socio-economic determinants of food insecurity of the fishermen communities in the coastal areas, namely Galachipa, Kalapara and Dumki Upazilas in Patuakhali district of Bangladesh. A two-stage cluster sampling technique has been used for getting the primary data (n=200). The food insecurity status was measured by using Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) suggested under the indicator of 2.1.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Logistic regression model has been used to identify the determinants of food insecurity status. Results reveal that families having larger number of members are more likely to be food insecure than families with small numbers of members. Also, households having monthly income level below BDT 5000 are more food insecure than their counterparts. Another important determinant by which food insecurity is significantly affected is the education of the household head. A range of viable policy interventions for the fishermen communities have been recommended. These include i) diversification of income generating opportunities, ii) improving education status of the community to enable to shift to safer employment when necessary, iii) building awareness on adverse effects of bigger family size through family planning campaign, and iv) providing skilled based training and necessary credit access among the unemployed members of the household.

Keywords: Food insecurity, FIES, SDG indicator 2.1.2, Coastal regions

Location: Three Upazilas namely, Galachipa, Kalapara and Dumki of Patuakhali district, Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Food Safety and Security

Commodity: Food, Fishermen

Objectives:

The specific objective of this study has been set to identify the significant demographic and socio-economic factors contributing to food insecurity among fishermen community of Patuakhali district.

Methodology:

Data This study depended mainly on primary data, which was collected by a three-stage cluster sampling technique from randomly selected three Upazilas (first stage units) namely, Galachipa, Kalapara and Dumki of Patuakhali district. From each of the selected Upazila, two/three unions (second stage units) were selected randomly and a circular systematic sample of the households (25 from each selected unions) (third stage units) were selected within these areas. Primary data were collected in a field survey by direct interview method from the three targeted Upazilas [n = 200; Galachipa (Nc: Galachipa- 950; Panpotti- 1015; Ratanodi Taltoli- 870; n₁ = 75), Kalapara (N_c: Mohipur- 2222; Kuakata – 1315; n₂ = 50) and Dumki (N_c: Pangasia- 620; Angaria- 345; Lebukhali-280; n₃ = 75), where n = sample size, n_i is the subsample size in ith Upazila, and N_c refers to the population size in each union]. In coastal regions most of the vulnerable people are involved in fisheries-related work, so we selected household heads (all were males) of the fisheries community as our primary respondents. Demographic and socio-economic data and information of selected areas were collected through questionnaire surveys. Some demographic data were also collected from local government institutions. The assessment of the impact of a household’s socioeconomic status on food insecurity outcomes was conducted by means of X² statistics. The measure of food insecurity- FIES Methods Defining a standard metric which will be accustomed to identifying the determinants of food insecurity across different countries has so far been lacking. This is made possible by the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Voices of the Hungry (VoH) project, that has developed an experiential measure of food insecurity—the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) (Cafiero et al., 2016). The aim of VoH is to produce annual comparable estimates of food insecurity around the world. The FIES is the first survey protocol to measure people’s direct experiences of food insecurity at the individual level on a worldwide scale. This is suggested under the SDG Indicator 2.1.2: Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population (UN 2020). The ideas underlying the experience-based food security measurement studies were to understand the experience of hunger. The approach accustomed to analyzing FIES data comes from Item Response Theory (IRT), a branch of statistics that allows the measurement of unobservable traits through analysis of responses to surveys and tests. As food security itself is an inherently imperceptible characteristic like attitude or intelligence, it can be measured only by examining its observable manifestations. The specific IRT model applied to FIES data is that the Rasch model, which is widely employed in health, education and psychology (Cafiero et al., 2016). Dependent and Independent variables The dependent variable, food insecurity (1 = yes, 0 = no), considered in this study has been derived using the methodology described in the earlier section. The independent variables considered in the regression analysis were household size, the religion of the respondents, age of the respondents, location, education level, monthly income level, number of nets, household house ownership.

Source of Information: The Bangladesh Journal of Agricultural Economics, 41(2): 17-28, 2020

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Food insecurity is a persistent problem in many of the developing countries. Bangladesh with its regular struggle with natural calamity and climate change vulnerability is not an exceptional one. This study tried to shed light on the food insecurity status among the inhabitants of the coastal regions of Bangladesh using the approach prescribed by SDG indicator 2.1.2 using Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES). In this study we have identified some major factors that have an effect on the household food insecurity status. Result from the study shows that 19.5 percent of the sample households are food insecure. This study reveals some important determinants of food insecurity, such as age, education, household size and income, which have policy relevance. Generally, the results of this study suggest that reducing food insecurity in the study area requires adoption of mixed policies and strategies, which will differ from strategies formulated for other regions of the country. For policymaking, it is very important to understand the dynamics of these factors for the alleviation of food insecurity among the vulnerable people. Having an idea about the factors affecting food insecurity might help them revisiting the existing policies like i) introducing diversified income generating opportunities, ii) improving education status of the community to enable them to shift to safer employment when necessary, iii) building awareness on adverse effects of too big family size with higher number of dependents through family planning campaign, and iv) providing skilled based training and necessary credit access among the unemployed members of the household. Nonetheless, based on the findings of this research, it can be firmly said that efforts to reduce livelihood vulnerability in coastal communities should be multifaceted so as to simultaneously tackle exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity and can improve their food insecurity status.

Knowledge Management: Journal