Food Security Situation and its Effect in Social Life in Far-Western Hills (A Case Study of Kuwakot VDC of Baitadi District)
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Department of Rural Development
Abstract
This study on Food Security Situation and its Effect in Social Life in Far
Western Hills: A Case Study of Kuwakot VDC of Baitadi District has been
carried out in Kuwakot VDC of Baitadi district. The study has been, primarily
focused on to identify the food security situation of the study area and its effect in
people’s life. Food insecurity has been perceived as lack of access by members
of household to enough, safe and nutritious food throughout the year to live
healthy. This is a situation caused either by inadequate food availability, access
and entitlements or by poverty or all of these. For the purpose of food security analysis, food availability means a situation in
which the food required to maintain a safe and healthy life is available for all
people in the country. Access to food implies that the people in a given location
have both physical and economic access to obtain food. Physical access implies
a food supply system which insures easy availability of required foods, and is
determined by local production augmented by imports and by the food
distribution system. Food utilization relates in part to the capacity to translate
efficiently into energy. However, the globally accepted definition of food security
is one adopted by the WFS held in Rome in November 1996, i.e. ‘Food security
exists when all people at all time, have physical and economic access to
sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food
preference for an active and healthy life’.
The specific objectives of the study are; to explore food security situation, to
identify prime factors behind food insecurity, to assess the effect of food
insecurity and to identify the alternative coping mechanisms at times of food
insecurity. Theoretical framework of the study is dependency theory. To conduct
the study in a systematic way the researcher has used the blend of descriptive
and explorative research design. Various data collection techniques have been
opted. Household survey questionnaire method has been applied to obtain the
primary information from the sampled households which revealed the household
economic, social and educational status including food security situation.
Similarly the researcher has used FGD, key informant interview and observation
tools in order to collect the primary data. Necessary secondary data have been
obtained from government policy documents, research reports, data sheets and
other relevant literatures available in national and international academic sphere. The major findings of the study are; the social and economic relation between the
district headquarter and the study area has been found far beyond the
imagination. People often go district headquarter for governmental official work,
agricultural concern and such other works. This shows the dependency of
periphery (Kuwakot) to core (DHQ). The relationship between village elites and
the poor was found, simply, a dominant and dependant. The poor often go with
the village elite to take debt at times of food shortage and other crisis. The
average land holding of the households has been found 0.6 hectare whereas the
national average is 0.8 hectare. The average food self sufficiency of the
household is only 4 to 6 months. Lack of irrigation, low productive land, natural
disaster, crop disease and traditional farming system were the prime factors
behind the existing food insecurity. Migration to India for labor work, low
educational attainment, and land selling were seen as the effect of food
insecurity which denotes the emerging crisis in the near future concerned with
food security. The remittances that were received from migrants also used to
maintain household food management, celebration of festivals, buying clothes,
invest in child education and other necessities. None of the household was found
to be able to save money in banks for further use. Governmental role toward the
food security seemed not sufficient, it is better to say passive.
The recommendations of the study are only for the academic purpose. It is
advised to carry out further research in the field of intra household food security
through gender perspective to find out the position of women and their control
over household food distribution and utilization. It also has been felt most
necessary to be carried out a research on the association between food security,
education enrollment and out-migration. This will further help to find out the
relationship between food security and education. Whether or not, education has
helped to reduce food insecurity and migration