The role of animal husbandry in providing food security to rural households (Case study: Rural areas of Zanjan Township)

Rural communities, as a large part of the population of developing countries, which are mainly food producers, are facing problems in providing their own food. Due to the trend of population increase on one hand and the reduction of environmental capacity on the other hand, it will be more difficult to provide food security in the future. In this regard, scientists have come up with various solutions to solve this crisis, and in most of these solutions, attention has been paid to sustainable agriculture and maintaining the relationship between its indicators, including the environment, agricultural exploitation, and food security. Nowadays, the position of animal husbandry activity in food security strategies has been increasingly improved. Because animal husbandry can play an important role in increasing income and increasing food security and nutrition, and it can also provide fertilizer and kinetic energy to the system, it can make agriculture more sustainable. However, few empirical studies have been conducted that show that there is a causal relationship between livestock ownership and food security. Therefore, it is felt necessary to pay attention to this category in order to ensure the food security of rural households.

The current research is based on the practical purpose and is descriptive-analytical in nature. The statistical population of the research is the households of the villages of Zanjan Township, which has 248 inhabited villages. Using the modified Cochran formula, 54 villages were selected as sample villages. The sampling method is simple probability (lottery method). The number of samples required to complete the questionnaire was determined by using Cochran's formula of 290 households, in the following, according to the number of households in each village, the number of samples in each village was determined. The method of collecting information in the current research is library and field, and descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data, and the food insecurity scale method was used to calculate the level of food security.

Descriptive findings related to the food security status of families with children on the scale of food insecurity show that the highest level of food insecurity is related to the index "In the past month, has it happened that you or one of the family members could not have enough resources to eat the foods you like?" with an average of 5.44 and the lowest level of food insecurity is related to the index "In the past month, has it happened that there is nothing to eat in your home due to not having enough money to buy food?" with an average of 2.79. Also, the descriptive findings related to the food security status of childless families in the food insecurity scale method show that the highest level of food insecurity is related to the index "In the past month, has it happened that you or one of the family members did not have enough resources to eat the foods you like? "with an average of 5.33 and the lowest level of food insecurity is related to the index "In the past month, has it happened that you or one of your family members did not eat anything for a whole day and night due to not having enough food?" with an average of 3.16.In the following, the investigations related to the average livestock ownership in the studied area show that 39.28 households own traditional poultry, 32.89 households own heavy livestock and 43.11 households own light livestock. Finally, examining the intensity and direction of the statistical relationship between animal husbandry and food security in the study area shows that animal husbandry has made a significant difference in the food security of the rural households under study. So that in households with food security, the correlation is 0.252 and in households with food insecurity without hunger, the correlation decreases (0.048), but it still has a positive relationship. Also, in households with food insecurity with moderate hunger, the correlation coefficient is -0.279 and for food insecurity with severe hunger, the correlation coefficient is -0.107. Therefore, it can be said that animal husbandry in rural households has led to the improvement of the food security situation, and with the reduction or elimination of animal husbandry, the food security of rural households also decreases. 

The results related to the investigation of the food security situation in Zanjan Township show that it is unfavorable, so that only 26.37% of the households have food security. However, food insecurity with moderate hunger and food insecurity with extreme hunger have a relatively lower average. This shows the need to pay attention to the factors influencing the improvement of food security in the region. Further, the investigation related to the average livestock in the studied area shows that this part of the research is in line with the studies of Upton (2004). As he points out, light livestock has more fans among livestock farmers due to its lower cost, domestic consumption and domestic sales, and has a positive effect on household food security. Also, the investigations of the relationship between livestock farming and the food security of the studied rural households showed that livestock farming in rural households has led to an improvement in the food security situation, and with the reduction or elimination of livestock farming, the food security of rural households also decreases. In the first stage, the ownership of livestock provides the villagers with the possibility of consuming livestock products, and in the next stage, it is one of the effective factors in food security through the creation of income and the possibility of selling its products and earning income to buy other foodstuffs.