Evaluating the Impact of Social Capital on the Food Security of Rural Households: Case Study of GhaniBigloo County, Zanjan Township

Document Type : Review Article

Author

Department of Geography, Faculty of Humanities, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran

Abstract

This study focuses on the relationship between social capital and food security in rural areas. Researchers have highlighted the importance of social capital in enhancing household food security in rural settings. This descriptive and analytical study uses library research and fieldwork (questionnaires) for data collection. Descriptive and inferential statistics (t-test and diagnostic analysis) were used for analysis. The study focused on 8 villages in the Ghani Bigloo district of Zanjan County, with a total of 2,471 households and 7,614 people. To obtain a sample size of 315, the Cochran formula was used, and simple random sampling was employed. According to the results of the analysis, there is a difference in the food security status of households, and it is feasible to create a formula to distinguish between two categories of households based on the studied factors. The coefficients of the discriminant function and the structure matrix coefficients demonstrate that social trust, social cohesion, local networks, and social participation are the most crucial factors affecting the food security of rural households. The presence of social capital plays a significant role in addressing food security and promoting development in different areas. By enhancing social capital, we can effectively reduce food insecurity in these regions. Hence, this article aims to explore the significance of social capital in enhancing the food security of rural households, offering valuable insights and original perspectives on the subject.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Abunyewah, M. et al., 2023. Influence of personal and collective social capital on flood preparedness and community resilience: Evidence from Old Fadama, Ghana. International journal of disaster risk reduction, 94, 103790.
Ahmadpour, A., Arab, F. & Shahraki, M.R., 2019. The Effect of Social Capital Aspects on Entrepreneurial Behavior of the Members of Rural Women Cooperatives in Mazandaran Province. Journal of Research and Rural Planning, 8(3), 45-58.
Aldrich, D. et al., 2012. D.P. Building Resilience: Social Capital in Post-Disaster Recovery the University of Chicago Press, Chicago, USA. DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226012896.001.0001.
Ansah, I.G.K., Gardebroek, C. & Ihle, R., 2019. Resilience and household food security: a review of concepts, methodological approaches and empirical evidence. Food Security, 11(6), 1187-1203.
Berggreen-Clausen, A. et al., 2022. Food environment interactions after migration: a scoping review on low-and middle-income country immigrants in high-income countries. Public health nutrition, 25(1), 136-158.
Bloom, J.D., Hardison-Moody, A. & Schulman, M., 2018. Bonding and bridging: Leveraging immigrant and refugee community assets to support healthy eating. Community Development, 49(2), 211-230.
Byker Shanks, C., Calloway, E.E., Parks, C.A. & Yaroch, A.L., 2020. Scaling up measurement to confront food insecurity in the USA. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 10(6), 1382-1389.
Cadger, K., Quaicoo, A.K., Dawoe, E. & Isaac, M.E., 2016. Development interventions and agriculture adaptation: A social network analysis of farmer knowledge transfer in Ghana. Agriculture, 6(3), 32.
Chakona, G. & Shackleton, C.M., 2017. Voices of the hungry: a qualitative measure of household food access and food insecurity in South Africa. Agriculture & food security, 6, 1-17.
Chriest, A.N., 2017. Role of Community Social Capital for Acute Food Security Following an Extreme Weather Event. The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College.
Ailish, C. et al., 2023. Linking household access to food and social capital typologies in Phalombe District, Malawi, Sustainability Science, 18(2), 1721-1737.
Davenport, M. & Hassan, R., 2020. Application of exploratory factor analysis to address the challenge of measuring social capital in a rural communal setting in South Africa. Agrekon, 59(2), 218-234.
Dean, W.R. & Sharkey, J.R., 2011. Food insecurity, social capital and perceived personal disparity in a predominantly rural region of Texas: an individual-level analysis. Social Science & Medicine. 72(2), 1454-1462.
Dzanja, J., Christie, M., Fazey, I. & Hyde, T., 2015. The Role of social capital in rural household food security: The case study of Dowa and Lilongwe Districts in Central Malawi. Journal of Agricultural Science, 7(12), 165-176.
Egah, J. et al, 2023. Eliciting the gender income influences on household’s food security in West Africa. Heliyon, 9(6).
Ehsan, A. et al., 2019. Social capital and health: A systematic review of systematic reviews. SSM-Population Health, 8, Article 100425.
Edeh, H.O. & Gyimah-Brempong, K., 2014. Determinants of change and household responses to food insecurity: Empirical evidence from Nigeria.
FAD., 2021.The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy.
FAO., 2018. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World: Building climate resilience for food security and nutrition, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome, FAO.
FAO., 2020. FIDA, OMS, PAM & UNICEF L’État de la security alimentary et de la nutrition dans le monde 2020. Transformer les systems aliment Aires pour une alimentation saine et absorbable FAO, Rome.
FAO., 1983. World food security: A reappraisal of the concepts and approaches. Director General's Report, Rome.
FAO., 2009. The state of food insecurity in the world economic crises – impacts and lessons learned 2009 key messages Notes. Rome.
FAO., 2016. Methods for Estimating Comparable Rates of Food Insecurity Experienced by Adults throughout the World FAO, Rome.
FAO. 2018. The state of food security and nutrition in the world. Building climate resilience for food security and nutrition, Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome.
FAO., 2019.The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World Safeguarding against Economic Slowdowns and Downturns.
FAO., 2020.The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020. Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome.
FAO., 2022.The state of food and nutrition security in the world. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
Forrest, J.B., 2017. Rural development and food security in the 21st Century: A review and proposal. Journal of Developing Societies, 33(4), 448-468.
Frankenberger, T. et al., 2016. The effects of social capital on resilience capacity: Evidence from Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Niger and Burkina Faso. International Livestock Research Institute and TANGO International, Nairobi.
Garasky, S., Morton, L.W. & Greder, K.A., 2006. The effects of the local food environment and social support on rural food insecurity. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 1(1), 83-103.
GBD., 2017. Diet Collaborators Health effects of dietary risks in 195 countries, 2019, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 Lancet, 393, 1958-1972.
Ghadermarzi, H., Riahi, V. & Moshfeqnejadi, E., 2021. Assessment of Local Communities Standpoint about Rural Development (Case Study: Boyerahmad County). Journal of Research and Rural Planning, 10(4), 21-41.
Gibson, M., 2012. Food security—a commentary: what is it and why is it so complicated? Foods, 1(1), 18-27.
Gingell, K., Murray, I. & Correa-Velez, D., 2022. Gallegos Determinants of food security among people from refugee backgrounds resettled in high-income countries: A systematic review and thematic synthesis PLoS One, 17(2), 14-28.
Glanville, J.L. & Story, W.T., 2018. Social capital and self-rated health: Clarifying the role of trust. Social Science Research, 71, 98-108.
HLPE., 2020. Food security and nutrition: building a global narrative towards 2030. 112 pages, available at https://www.fao.org/3/ca9731en/ca9731en.pdf, accessed 05.05.2022.
Issahaku, G. & Abdulai, A., 2020. Can farm households improve food and nutrition security through adoption of climate‐smart practices? Empirical evidence from northern Ghana. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 42(3), 559-579.
Jones, A.D., Ngure, F.M., Pelto, G. & Young, S.L., 2013. What are we assessing when we measure food security? A compendium and review of current metrics. Advances in Nutrition, 4(5), 481-505.
Kansanga, M.M. et al., 2020. Beyond ecological synergies: Examining the impact of participatory agroecology on social capital in smallholder farming communities. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 27(1), 1-14.
Keller, M. et al., 2018. Food security and climate change from a systems perspective: Community case studies from Honduras. Climate and Development, 10(8), 742-754.
Kirkpatrick, S.I. & Tarasuk, V., 2010. Assessing the relevance of neighbourhood characteristics to the household food security of low-income Toronto families. Public Health Nutrition, 13(7), 1139-1148.
Kolog, J.D., Asem, F.E. & Mensah-Bonsu, A., 2023. The state of food security and its determinants in Ghana: an ordered probit analysis of the household hunger scale and household food insecurity access scale. Scientific African, 19, e01579.
Lamidi, E.O., 2019. Household composition and experiences of food insecurity in Nigeria: the role of social capital, education, and time use. Food Secur, 11(1), 201-218.
Lawlis, T., Islam, W. & Upton, P., 2018. Achieving the four dimensions of food security for resettled refugees in Australia: A systematic review. Nutrition & Dietetics, 75(2), 182-192.
Misselhorn, A. & Hendriks, S.L., 2017. A systematic review of sub-national food insecurity research in South Africa: Missed opportunities for policy insights. PloS One, 12(8), e0182399.
Mohammadi Yeganeh, B., Cheraghi, M. & Yaripour, A., 2017. The Effects of Social Capital in Economic Diversity of Rural Households) Case Study: Zarin Dasht Dehestan- Darrehshahr County). Journal of Research and Rural Planning, 5(4), 1-15.
Mokari-Yamchi, A. et al., 2020. Food security and its association with social support in the rural households: a cross-sectional study. Preventive Nutrition and Food Science, 25(2), 146.
Moore, S. & Kawachi, I., 2017. Twenty years of social capital and health research: a glossary. Journal Epidemiol Community Health, 71(5), 513-517.
Morton, L.W. et al., 2005. Solving the problems of Iowa food deserts: Food insecurity and civic structure. Rural Sociology, 70(1), 94-112.
Naderi Mehdi, K. et al., 2018. Nutritional knowledge and social capital for rural household food security, Conference: 7th National Congress of Agricultural Promotion and Education, Natural Resources and Environment; August 28-25, 2018.
Niles, M.T. et al., 2021. Household and community social capital links to smallholder food security. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 5, 583353.
Niles, M.T. & Brown, M.E., 2017. A multi-country assessment of factors related to smallholder food security in varying rainfall conditions. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 16277.
Nosratabadi, S. et al., 2020. Social capital contributions to food security: A comprehensive literature review. Foods, 9, 1650-1721.
Oduniyi, O.S. & Tekana, S.S., 2020. Status and socioeconomic determinants of farming households’ food security in Ngaka Modiri Molema District, South Africa. Social Indicators Research, 149(2), 719-732.
Ogunpaimo, O.R., Oyetunde-Usman, Z. & Surajudeen, J., 2021. Impact of Climate Change Adaptation on Household Food Security in Nigeria—A Difference-in-Difference Approach. Sustainability, 13(3), 1444.
Partelow, S., 2021. Social capital and community disaster resilience: post-earthquake tourism recovery on Gili Trawangan, Indonesia. Sustainability Science, 16(1), 203-220.
Poortinga, W., 2006. Social capital: an individual or collective resource for health?. Social Science & Medicine, 62(2), 292-302.
Prosekov, A.Y. & Ivanova, S.A., 2018. Food security: The challenge of the present. Geoforum, 91, 73-77.
Quetulio-Navarra, M., Frunt, E. & Niehof, A., 2018. The role of social capital and institutions in food security and wellbeing of children under five for resettled households in Central Java, Indonesia, in Diversity and Change in Food Wellbeing (Wageningen: Wageningen Academic Publishers), 115-136.
Rayamajhee, V. & Bohara, A.K., 2019. Do voluntary associations reduce hunger? An empirical exploration of the social capital-food security nexus among food impoverished households in western Nepal. Food Security, 11(2), 405-415.
Sano, Y. et al., 2011. Understanding food insecurity among Latino immigrant families in rural America. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 32, 111-123.
Savari, M., Barfizadeh, L. & Asadi, Z., 2021. Effects of Social Capital on Achieving Food Security in Drought Conditions (Case Study: Rural Settlements in Dorud County). Geography and Environmental Planning, 32(4), 1-28.
Sen, A., 1981. Poverty and Famines an Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation Oxford University Press, New York.
Shafiei Sabet, N. & Ebrahimipoor, F., 2022. Analysis of the Role of Social Capital in the Spatial Evolution of Rural Settlements (Case Study: Esfandagheh District, Jiroft County). Journal of Research and Rural Planning, 11(2), 23-40.
Sonboli, Z., Jalali, M. & Parvaneh, Z., 2021. Analyzing the Impact of the Social Capital on the Performance of Rural Municipalities (Case Study: Sonqor and Kolyai County). Journal of Research and Rural Planning, 10(4), 101-116.
Sseguya, H., Mazur, R.E. & Flora, C.B., 2018. Social capital dimensions in household food security interventions: Implications for rural Uganda. Agriculture and Human Values, 35(1), 117-129.
Swanson, J.A., Olson, C.M., Miller, E.O. & Lawrence, F.C., 2008. Rural mothers’ use of formal programs and informal social supports to meet family food needs: A mixed methods study. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 29, 674-690.
Thamaga-Chitja, J.M. & Tamako, N., 2017. Does social capital play a role in climate change adaptation among smallholder farmers for improving food security and livelihoods? Journal of Consumer Sciences.
Walker, J.L. et al., 2007. Household food insecurity is inversely associated with social capital and health in females from special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children households in Appalachian Ohio. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 107(11), 1989-1993.
Wood, J.M. et al., 2021. What factors are associated with food security among recently arrived refugees resettling in high-income countries? A scoping review. Public Health Nutrition, 24(13), 4313-4327.
Zhou, D. et al., 2019. Factors affecting household food security in rural northern hinterland of Pakistan. Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences, 18(2), 201-210.

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics