Impact Of Resource Availability And Demand For Fresh Food On Developing The Sense Of Food Security Via Urban Agriculture

Given the significant of food security,this research is aimed to extend the existing knowledge on food security in order to rationalize its practical implications.Several knowledge gaps regarding the impact of urban agriculture on food security exist.First,the current literature is lacking the proper conceptualization of urban agriculture as individual scholars have defined the concept according to the context of their research.Accordingly,the sense of food security varies from individual to individual.For instance,the mere production of fresh food is not sufficient to develop the sense of food security if such food cannot be preserved,equally available to everyoneor can be consumedproperly despite its availability.Hence,such conceptualization of urban agriculture is needed that could reflect a holistic view of fresh food availability.Second,although the research on impacts of urban agriculture is extensive and well developed specifically on food security,yet the determinants of urban agriculture are rarely examined that limits our knowledge of how and under what conditions the urban dwellers are motivating to engage in different.Besides,as the urban agriculture is a group practice and largely performed in communal form,it is important to encounter the role of societal factors in motivating the urban dwellers towards urban agriculture which are largely overlooked.Accordingly,this study is aimed to propose a conceptual model with urban agriculture as the center of attention.The model comprises of four aspects of urban agriculture,namely,production,processing,distribution,and consumption of food.Two determinants,demand for fresh food and availability of resource were proposed to have a positive association with the urban dwellers’ motivation to engage in all the four activities of urban agriculture.Further,the conceptual model suggests that the sense of food security depends on the extent to which the urban dwellers engage in the different activities of urban agriculture,and so a positive relationship was proposed among these factors.Finally,the model suggests that attitudes of urban dwellers and social norms influence the role of resource availability and demand for fresh food in motivating the individuals towards urban dwellers.Accordingly,several hypotheses including direct,mediating,and moderating hypotheses were proposed.A quantitative research design was adopted to test the proposed conceptual model.The population of the study was comprised of the students and faculty members of the universities located in different cities of Pakistan.The reason for choosing the said population is that despite being the agricultural country,Pakistan is facing a serious issue of food security.Reports from the national and international organizations provides the evidence that the problem of food security is going to become more severe if appropriate actions were not taken,hence the country is a suitable subject of the study.The convenient sampling method was used to choose the sample from the population.The data were collected through the self-reported questionnaires designed and finalized by a panel of expert.The measurement scales of the questionnaire were adapted from previous studies.A total of 417 respondents returned the valid questionnaires.The questionnaire was tested for its reliability and validity,which were accurate.Furthermore,the data were analyzed through the structural equation modelling(SEM)with AMOS as the analytical software.The results largely support the proposed conceptual framework.The resource availability and demand for fresh food were positively and significantly related to all the four aspects of urban agriculture.Besides,urban agriculture in all of its four forms was significantly related to the dwellers’ sense of food security.This suggests to argue that the dwellers’ sense of food security depends on the extent to which they engage in all or either of the four aspects of urban agriculture.Moreover,the four aspects of urban agriculture mediated the relationship of demand for fresh food and availability of resources with food security.This further suggests to reason that demand for fresh food and availability of resources develop the sense of food security through the underlying mechanism of urban agriculture.Finally,the attitudes of urban dwellers and social norms moderated the effect of demand for fresh food and the availability of resources on urban agriculture.This means that the positive attitudes towards the urban agriculture and the social acceptability of the urban agriculture in the local community act as the catalyst to motivate the dwellers to engage in urban agriculture after they realize the need for fresh food or have the required e resources.The study has significant theoretical and practical implications.Primarily,the study contributes to the food availability decline theory by integrating all its aspect in a single model and apply the assumptions of the theory to explain the relationship among the variables of the proposed model.Therefore,the research extends the applicability of the theory and address the criticism on the theory.Second,the research conceptualizes the urban agriculture in four different aspects through the food availability decline theory and empirically test these aspects.Third,the research contributes towards the food security literature by providing the evidence that developing the consumers’ sense of food security is a complex process rather than just originating from the food production.The policy implications are proposed based on the findings of the study.The study realizes the decision makers,common public and government officials that urban agriculture does not involve the food production,rather it is a complex process of food production,processing,distribution,and consumption.As the resource availability is the factor behind the motivation of the urban dwellers to engage in urban agriculture,it is important to mention that the concerned authorities should arrange the required resources for the common public.Moreover,the findings imply that the attitudes and social norms of the urban dwellers play a significant role in motivating the individuals towards urban agriculture and such practices vary from culture to culture and individual to individual.