Household Food Security: Case of Summer Crop Growers in Shoushtar Township, Iran

The purpose of this research was to analyze household food security and identifies key socio-economic factors associated with this condition among summer crop growers in Shoushtar Township, Khouzestan Province, Iran. This cross-sectional survey study was conducted from September 2015 to February 2017. The population consisted of summer crop farmers in the Shoushtar Township (N=850). The sample size was determined based on Morgan table (n=150). For analyzing food security level, the 18-item USDA household food security questionnaire, which contains questions that underlie the 12-month food security scale in survey-instrument form, was used. The food security scale was developed based on responses to questions Q2 to Q16 (18 questions). These include both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the household's food supply as well as household members' psychological and behavioral responses. Based on the results, more than half of households (52.67%) experienced food insecurity and less than half (47.33%) indicating that they are food secure. Correlation coefficient results showed that there was significant relationship between the income, educational level, extension education activities, social participation, technical knowledge and food security. Based on regression analysis, income, educational level, extension education activities, technical knowledge and social participation may well explain for 75.43% changes (R2=0.7543) in level of food security