Impact Of Crop Diversification Onfarming Household Food Security In Rural Punjab Pakistan

Agriculture is the basis of people’s life.The majority of a family’s food choices are decided by their financial status,the number of family members,the number of earning family members,and,most crucially,the prices of various food items.Hunger,poverty,malnutrition,and food security issues are all directly related to changes in household income.Globally rural households with less landholding,especially from developing countries,are more food insecure.Families belonging to different vicinities and socio-economic groups have different earning and utilizing earnings to fulfil their basic needs.Small farmers comprise the majority of Pakistan’s agricultural landscape.However,these farmers cannot achieve self-sufficiency with this livelihood,and are facing food security concerns.While keeping in view the situation,this study planned to deepen insight into rural households’ food consumption system and to determine the effect of crop diversification on rural food insecurity mitigation.The specific objective of this study is 1)To study significant factors behind malnutrition and food insecurity of farming households.2)To analyze the role of crop diversification in yield stability.3)To Study the effect of market access on household food security.4)To analyze the effect of crop diversification on nutrition diversity and food security.5)To study the food demand system in the rural household to implications food security.This study was conducted in the Punjab province of Pakistan.Through multi-stage random sampling,40 households were chosen randomly,making a total sample size of 200 families from the five districts.Face-to-face interviews assisted researchers in collecting data.The data analysis was conducted in the Institute of Agricultural Information,Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences(AII-CAAS),Beijing,China,during 2019 and 2021 using econometric statistical models,such as Almost Ideal Demand System(AIDS),Ordinary least square regression,Logit,and Probit Models.Of the total respondents,56.3% were aged between 40-60 years.The majority of respondents(77%)own agricultural land and 65% had less than 5 acres of land,accentuating subsistence farming.More than half(53.6%)had at least five years of schooling,indicating a miserable educational situation for participating farmers.The level of food security was calculated with the help of the Food consumption score(food intake during last 7 days)and household food insecurity access score(Consumption behavior during last 30 days).To study cropping pattern of study area crop diversification index was calculated with the help of Herfindahl index.According to results only 57 households(28.50%)were practicing crop diversification.Crop diversification has positive and significant relation with household food security(FCS)and negative and substantial association with food insecurity(HFIAS).According to food consumption score,45.5 percent households were severely food insecure and as per Household food insecurity access score 58% households face sever insecurity during last thirty days.The main reasons for so much food insecurity were traditional cropping with less production,lack of agricultural input,rising food prices,fuel and transportation costs,and very few marketplaces.As well as landholding,earning hands in family,Monthly income and the distance of farm from the market have a significant effect on the food security status of the family.The distance of farm from market place increases labor costs,transportation costs,and fuel charges that affect household livelihood inversely.Findings imply that farmers were small landholders with poor education and inadequate access to services such as credit facility,storage facility,information regarding new technologies and extension services.Therefore,most farmers were not aware about smart agriculture and crop diversification.The findings indicate a great prospect of crop diversification among farmers in the region to expedite the income-generating process to structure farmers’ food security.As well as due to less production and low income a little shock can lead farming household to food insecurity.Results show that an increase or decrease in income or fluctuation in an economy severely affects food consumption pattern of rural households.A stable economy is an essential factor for upgrading the livelihood patterns and food security situation.Policymakers should modify food security plans according to the ever-changing needs of the population.The national poverty and food insecurity management departments of developing countries should be improved to predict vulnerability to food security and food loss more accurately.At the same time its recommended that agriculture department should start awareness campaign and training sessions regarding crop diversification and smart agriculture for famers especially small farmer with less landholding and make sure that they adopt crop diversification not only for their well-being but also for contributing in GDP.