Analysis of Food Insecurity and Some Factors Affecting to Rural Women Heads of Household in Islamabad Qarb County

1. Human as the main component of society and economy had a requirement that food security and healthy food nutrition was initially and major. Food insecurity and hungry can be affect on human health in the first stage, and social and psychological consequences in addition. Food security is a complex condition that its dimensions were availability, access, utilization and stability. The ability to access food rests on two pillars: economic and physical access. Economic access is determined by disposable income, food prices and the provision of and access to social support. Physical access is determined by the availability and quality of infrastructure. Ttherefore, monitoring food security and mitigating food insecurity in the any community was necessary. The purpose of study was to investigate food insecurity and its related factors in rural female headed households in the Islamabad Qarb county.
2. This study was a descriptive survey research and the statistical population of the study was rural women heads of household in the Islamabad Qarb county. 107 heads of household were selected by random sampling method. Data collection was accomplished by using questionnaires were filled out using interviews with the participants. The stundardaized questionnaire were used that the questionnaire was validated by a 5-member panel of experts and its reliability was confirmed through pre-test of data tool and Cronbach Alpha (α=0.92). To assess the level of food security, HFIAS index, regression and discriminate analysis were used for food security analyzing.
3. Results showed that 25.2 percent of households were in food secure level. Also results showed the other heads of household in low insecure level (51.4 percent), 21.5 percent in moderate level and 1.9 percent in severe food insecurity level. The results of HFIAS analysis showed the most of household food insecurity refers to food that family members do not like, because it was not possibility for providing proper foods. The results of the regression analysis were explained four factors including to: knowledge, supporting organization, the number of dependents and income that it explained 62% of the total variance of food insecurity. Also, the four levels of food insecurity were approved and appropriately fitted by discriminate analysis.
4. Final strategy is empowerment of rural women not is support and taking dependent to government. But in early stage, social protection and other measures that increase the incomes of poor families to buy food, they can have an even more positive effective and spur rural development, by creating employment opportunities, equitable opportunities for women in rural development.
Some of the most important factors in reducing the problems of rural women heads of household were: creating job opportunities, appropriate supportive mechanisms behalf of government, making of appropriate culture for families to support of training for mentioned families, and training of skills for home based business.
Ultimately, rural women's empowerment, political stability, effective governance, uninterrupted long-term commitments to mainstreaming food security and nutrition in policies and programmers are key to the reduction of rural women's hunger and malnutrition. So it can be expected that those factors which had high priority will contribute to related actors and organizations to apply food security of rural women heads of household strategies. It can be expected that those factors which had high priority will contribute to related actors and organizations to apply food security of rural women heads of household strategies.