Food security and women empowerment of livestock farming households in the Feed the Future zone of Bangladesh

Purpose - This study aims to investigate the determinants of the food security status of participants and nonparticipants of livestock extension services living under similar socioeconomic conditions as livestock farming households in the Feed the Future zone of Bangladesh.Design/methodology/approach - Cross-sectional data of 906 farm-households extracted from a total of 2064 from the Feed the Future representative Bangladesh Integrated Households Survey 2018 were used. A triple hurdle model combined with a structural equation model were used to analyze the data. The causal relationship between food security status, livestock extension services, technology adoption and women's empowerment was investigated by estimating structural equation modeling with second-order latent factors.Findings - The results indicate that livestock extension services have increased livestock technology adoption and have a positively significant (p < 0.01) relationship with household wealth, food security, welfare and women's empowerment.Originality/value - The results suggest that livestock extension services have an impact on new technology adoption and enhancing women's empowerment; thus, the services should be widely made available in the region.