Food Security Status and Nutritional Adequacy in Arid Part of India: A District Level Analysis

Abstract

The study uses cross-sectional data of a sample of 350 individuals from two villages in Jodhpur district of western Rajasthan. This paper examines the socio-demographic characteristics, extent of food insecurity, dietary diversity and nutritional status at the household level. To this end, subjective and objective measures like Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) and Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) and Body Mass Index (BMI) were employed. Bivariate and multivariate correlation analysis was performed to check the statistical significance of the findings. Average HFIAS Score of the villages were 0.83 and 0.90, respectively. Mild and moderate type of food insecurity prevailed in the area which reflected food insecurity more of qualitative nature rather than quantitative. Findings suggested that around 30 per cent of population was having lower BMI in both the villages and women were more prone to under nutrition than men. Dietary diversity scores for the villages were 7.23 and 6.96, respectively.