Simulating Potential Associated Socio-Economic Determinants With Sustainable Food Security (A Macro-Micro Spatial Quantitative Model)

Geographical patterns of implementing a government subsidy program: implications for health outcomes and nutrient intake in Iran

Introduction

The lack of access to a diverse and nutritious diet has significant health consequences worldwide. Governments have employed various policy mechanisms to ensure access, but their success varies.

Method

In this study, the impact of changes in food assistance policy on food prices and nutrient security in different provinces of Iran, a sanctioned country, was investigated using statistical and econometric models.

Results

Both the old and new policies were broad in scope, providing subsidized food or cash payments to the entire population. However, the implementation of these policies led to an increase in the market price of food items, resulting in a decline in the intake of essential nutrients. Particularly, the policy that shifted food assistance from commodity subsidies to direct cash payments reduced the price sensitivity of consumers. Consequently, the intake of key nutrients such as Vitamin C and Vitamin A, which are often constrained by their high prices, decreased. To improve the diets of marginalized populations, it is more effective to target subsidies towards specific nutrient groups and disadvantaged populations, with a particular focus on food groups that provide essential nutrients like Vitamin A and Vitamin C in rural areas of Iran.

Discussion

More targeted food assistance policies, tailored to the specific context of each province and income level, are more likely to yield positive nutritional outcomes with minimal impact on food prices.

The association of the quality of life with Afghan households' food insecurity before and after the recent political change in Afghanistan: a comparative analysis

The overreaching objective of the current study is to investigate the association of quality of life with Afghan households' food insecurity. The data was collected immediately after the Taliban took control of a large part of Afghanistan. About a total of 555 households' heads participated in a face-to-face interview, using the HFIAS and WHOQOL-100 questionnaires along with some questions related to their socioeconomic characteristics at two different times, before and after the Taliban's takeover. The comparative analysis showed that 98% of Afghan households were food insecure after the Taliban takeover, while 70% of them faced food insecurity before the Taliban's takeover. The quality of life in the Taliban era is worse than before the Taliban. All dimensions of quality of life have decreased, and this decrease was more pronounced for the psychological, environmental, and physical domains. It is recommended that international organizations, NGOs, and local agents focus on these dimensions of the quality of life to improve food security.

Household food insecurity and associated factors in the Northeast of Iran: a cross-sectional study : Household food security in Northern Iran

BACKGROUND

Food Insecurity (FI) is a global health concern. For the first time, this study evaluated households' food insecurity and factors related to it in Golestan province, North of Iran.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 5129 randomly selected households in the Golestan Province in 2016. Sociodemographic characteristics, including age, ethnicity, household size, education level, and occupation status, were collected via interview. The prevalence and severity of food insecurity were identified by the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), whose scores are between 0 and 27, with larger values indicating more severe food insecurity. The prevalence of food insecurity based on the geographical area was presented using GIS.

RESULTS

Out of 5129 households, 2216 (43.21%) had food security, and 2913 (56.79%) households had food insecurity, with a Mean ± SD HFIAS score of 4.86 ± 5.95. Out of 2913 households with FI, 1526 (52.39%), 956 (32.82%), and 431 (14.79%) had mild, moderate, and severe food insecurity, respectively. Among 14 regions of the province, three regions had the most cases of food insecurity. Food insecurity (moderate or severe) was significantly associated with mothers as the household head (adjusted OR = 1.67, 95% CI: 1.03-2.70) and lower education level of the household head.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of household food insecurity in the Golestan Province is higher than the national average. Factors such as literacy, employment status, and gender of the household head can be significantly associated with food insecurity.

Assessing the association of sustainable agriculture with rural household food security (considering ecological, economic, and social aspects)

Due to the importance of sustainability in the world, we follow the missing pieces of the puzzle of sustainable agriculture and food security as a huge gap in the literature. To achieve this goal, a survey was analyzed to assess the linkage between these two concepts in the rural areas in Lorestan province in Iran. The status of food security was assessed using US Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM). A standard questionnaire extracted from the related literature was applied to calculate sustainability indicators. The results showed that the status of food security among households with no children (70%) was better than those with one or more children (28%). According to the Tobit model, none of the sustainability dimensions had a significant association with food insecurity. The results support the fact that the assessment of agricultural sustainability at the microeconomic level, short-term period, and a small, specified location cannot lead to reliable results due to the similar behaviors of farmers in these areas. The low level of agricultural sustainability is due to the lack of macroeconomic policies in the region to promote and disseminate the principles of sustainability, lack of plans and actions to promote sustainability by stakeholders and policymakers, ignorance of the target community, as subsistence producers who fall into a deprivation trap. The results suggest that policymakers should use two short-term and long-term strategies to improve the level of agricultural sustainability and increase food security status.