Determinants of food security and prospects of crop diversification in rural regions of Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Pakistan is an agricultural economy, yet achieving food security has become indispensable. This study aimed at measuring the influence of different factors on the state of food security among rural households and prospects of crops diversification in tackling the food insecurity. This study was conducted in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Through multi-stage random sampling, 40 households were chosen randomly, making a total sample size of 200 families from the five districts. Face-to-face interviews assisted researchers in collecting data. OLS regression model was used to examine the elements contributing to food insecurity. Of the total respondents, 56.6% were aged between 40-60 years. The majority of respondents (65%) had less than 5 acres of land, accentuating subsistence farming. More than half (53.6%) had at least five years of schooling, indicating a miserable educational situation for participating farmers. Among total population only 23.49% of farmers have practically adopted crop diversification. Age, land size, access to credit and crop diversification were statistically significant (P<0.05) with FCS and negatively associated with HFIAS. Findings imply that farmers were small landholders with poor education and inadequate access to services such as credit. Therefore, the majority of farmers were found food insecure according to the FCS score. The findings indicate a great prospect of crop diversification among farmers in the region to expedite the income-generating process to structure farmers' food security. The pre-defined and revamped roles of institutions like Public Sector Agricultural Extension could serve the purpose.