STUDY ON FOOD SECURITY, FOOD HABIT AND FOOD EXPENDITURE OF INDIGENOUS FAMILIES IN NORTH WEST REGION OF BANGLADESH

Abstract

This study was undertaken to identify the food security status, food habit and food expenditure analysis of the indigenous families from north west region of Bangladesh with the identification of causal factors for the indicators, as well as to suggest measures to improve the socioeconomic status, food security level and removal of mal distribution of food intake habit of the family members. The study was conducted using single stage cluster sampling method with the estimated sample size of 252 households from the study population. Objectives oriented information was collected by using structured questionnaire with direct interview method. Most of the indigenous families (81%) of this region believed in Christianity and rests (19%) believed in Hinduism. The household head and housewives did not attend school. The families had symbolic amount of home or cultivated land but generally the families were landless or marginal type farmers. Early marriage and early pregnancy were remarkably prevalent among the indigenous families but it was higher for food insecured families compared to food secured families. This study revealed that average monthly income and average monthly expenditure of the indigenous families were about 29% and 49% lower respectively compared to the monthly income and expenditure of rural households in Bangladesh. This study concluded that about 12% families were found food secured only, where as 31% families were found food insecured without hunger and 57% families were considered as food insecured with hunger. The majorities of Orao and Malo families were found as hunger, whereas the majorities of Saotal and Mahalies were considered as not hunger families. These results confirmed that the food security level were very poor for the indigenous families of north west region of Bangladesh. Analysis found that service holder parents’ education level and profession level were found more among the food secured families compared to food insecured families. The most of the families faced in some sort of food deficits round the year but especially for the months of Ashaar-Shrabon and Vadro-Ashsin, which considered as lean period of the year before the time of Aman crop harvest. Food insecurity was more prevalent among the older women/housewives as they were given less preference in eating meals first for the consumption of adequate and quality foods. The expenditure of monthly consumption on poultry, meats (cow/goat), meats (rat/snake/pig) and smoking/exudation goods was continued by the indigenous families in same style. All the households consumed rice and salt every day, while in two of every three household’s oil and potatoes consumption was every day. Regarding vegetables consumption, about 64% vi \> households consumed it every day. But the consumption of animals like cow/buffalo/goat was never consumed by one in every two families. Nicotine products like biri/cigarette/gazza were preferred to intake everyday in 76% families head. The binary logistic regression analysis revealed that the factors like family size, occupation of house wives, total own land and monthly income of households had significant contributing factors to vary food security level of the families. The Pearson’s correlation coefficients indicated that education level of HH head, total earning family members, total own land, total cultivated land, monthly income of HH, monthly expenditure on food and total monthly expenditure of the HHs were higher for food secured families. The budget shares for most of the food groups were found highly responsive to the expenditure variable with different forms of the Engel models. The groups’ cereals, roots and pulses, vegetables, oil and spices, and drugs and others were considered as necessity goods by the consumers of indigenous families in north west region of Bangladesh. Rich foods group was viewed as significant luxury product indicating that the purchasing capacity of the indigenous families in north west region of Bangladesh was not too high to have such a rich food item regularly. To maintain parental education at certain stage, the education levels up to college level of family members should be completed first before their marriages. Education level of children should be continued to prevent child labor initiatives. Mobilization by the social and religious leaders especially for Christian missionaries and charities needs to be geared up to reduce adverse effect of early marriage and early pregnancy of mothers. To increase the purchasing power of the HHs, appropriate sustainable income generating activities are needed to be introduced with small scale investment. In this respect both GO and NGO should take the initiatives by providing credit to Adivashi families without or with minimum interest, considering indigenous families that are under-privileged. Full free education facilities to the children up to college levels, admission quota facilities of the children at the public universities, job opportunities (quota) and allocation of khas land to families were the main demand of indigenous families to improve their socioeconomic status to the government.