Assessing Rural Household Food Security using Sustainable Livelihoods Framework in Western Iran

This study aimed to assess rural household food security status in the villages of Kermanshah County using sustainable livelihoods framework by an exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach. In this research, qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analyzed in two separate phases. In qualitative research, change agents and the Delphi technique are employed to identify and classify these factors and prioritize the effects of them on the food security status of rural households. In the second phase, the theoretical basis for the structural model in the quantitative investigation, based on sustainable livelihoods framework, and the results of the qualitative section were added to the model. Bayesian structural equation modeling is used in model presentation. The results indicate that among the food security dimensions, stability (0.738) and among the sustainable livelihood framework factors, social capital (0.316) have the greatest impact on food security status. Moreover, the dimensions of natural capital (0.172), human capital (0.133), financial capital (0.081), livelihood strategies (0.075), vulnerability patterns (-0.046), transformative structures and processes (0.019) and physical capital (0.012) are the most effective factors on the food security status of households, respectively. In addition, "participation in cooperative activities with other villagers ", "social integration with other rural members ", "the crime rate in the village, " and "more preference for living in rural area " had the greatest effect on the formation of social capital. Hence, social empowerment, use of diverse cropping pattern and access to education in the region are necessary to improve food security development programs. Enhancing participation in cooperative activities with other rural households and encouraging social integration with members from other villages are the most important recommendations in this research.