Household Income Diversification and Food Insecurity: A Case Study of Afghanistan
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Literature Review
1.2. Theoretical Concepts
1.2.1. Income Diversification and Food Insecurity
1.2.2. Conceptual Framework
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Area
2.2. Sample Size and Sampling Approach
2.3. Procedure for Data Collection
2.4. Measurement of Variables
2.4.1. Dependent Variable: Household Food Insecurity
- HFIA category = 1 if [(Q1a = 0 or Q1a = 1) and Q2 = 0 and Q3 = 0 and Q4 = 0 and Q5 = 0 and Q6 = 0 and Q7 = 0 and Q8 = 0 and Q9 = 0]
- HFIA category = 2 if [(Q1a = 2 or Q1a = 3 or Q2a = 1 or Q2a = 2 or Q2a = 3 or Q3a = 1 or Q4a = 1) and Q5 = 0 and Q6 = 0 and Q7 = 0 and Q8 = 0 and Q9 = 0]
- HFIA category = 3 if [(Q3a = 2 or Q3a = 3 or Q4a = 2 or Q4a = 3 or Q5a = 1 or Q5a = 2 or Q6a = 1 or Q6a = 2) and Q7 = 0 and Q8 = 0 and Q9 = 0]
- HFIA category = 4 if [Q5a = 3 or Q6a = 3 or Q7a = 1 or Q7a = 2 or Q7a = 3 or Q8a = 1 or Q8a = 2 or Q8a = 3 or Q9a = 1 or Q9a = 2 or Q9a = 3]
2.4.2. Independent Variables: Household Income Diversification and Control Variables
2.5. Analytical Approaches
3. Results
3.1. Descriptive Statistics of Household Food Insecurity and Income Diversification in Helmand, Afghanistan
3.2. Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS)
3.3. Income Sources
3.4. Bivariate and Multivariate Ordered Logistic Models Predicting Severe Food Insecurity
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization |
WFP | World Food Programme |
Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock | |
NSIA | National Statistics and Information Authority |
HFIA | Household Food Insecurity Access Scale |
NGO | Non-Governmental Organization |
VIF | Variance Inflation Factor |
OR | Odds Ratio |
Appendix A. Household Food Insecurity Access Scale Questionnaire
No. | Question | Responses Option |
---|---|---|
1 | In the past 4 weeks, did you worry that your household would not have enough food? | 0 = No 1 = Yes |
1a | How often did this happen? | 1 = Rarely (once or twice in the past 4 weeks) 2 = Sometimes (three to ten times in the past 4 weeks) 3 = Often (more than ten times in the past 4 weeks) |
2 | In the past 4 weeks, were you or any household member unable to eat the foods you preferred because of a lack of resources? | 0 = No 1 = Yes |
2a | How often did this happen? | 1 = Rarely (once or twice in the past 4 weeks) 2 = Sometimes (three to ten times in the past 4 weeks) 3 = Often (more than ten times in the past 4 weeks) |
3 | In the past 4 weeks, did you or any household member have to eat a limited variety of foods due to a lack of resources? | |
3a | How often did this happen? | 1 = Rarely (once or twice in the past 4 weeks) 2 = Sometimes (three to ten times in the past 4 weeks) 3 = Often (more than ten times in the past 4 weeks) |
4 | In the past 4 weeks, did you or any household member have to eat some foods you did not want because of a lack of resources to obtain other types of food? | 0 = No 1 = Yes |
4a | How often did this happen? | 1 = Rarely (once or twice in the past 4 weeks) 2 = Sometimes (three to ten times in the past 4 weeks) 3 = Often (more than ten times in the past 4 weeks) |
5 | In the past 4 weeks, did you or any household member have to eat a smaller meal than you felt you needed because there was insufficient food? | 0 = No 1 = Yes |
5a | How often did this happen? | 1 = Rarely (once or twice in the past 4 weeks) 2 = Sometimes (three to ten times in the past 4 weeks) 3 = Often (more than ten times in the past 4 weeks) |
6 | In the past 4 weeks, did you or any other household member have to eat fewer meals daily because of insufficient food? | 0 = No (skip to Q7) 1 = Yes |
6a | How often did this happen? | 1 = Rarely (once or twice in the past 4 weeks) 2 = Sometimes (three to ten times in the past 4 weeks) 3 = Often (more than ten times in the past 4 weeks) |
7 | In the past 4 weeks, has there ever been no food in your household because of a lack of resources to get food? | 0 = No 1 = Yes |
7a | How often did this happen? | 1 = Rarely (once or twice in the past 4 weeks) 2 = Sometimes (three to ten times in the past 4 weeks) 3 = Often (more than ten times in the past 4 weeks) |
8 | In the past 4 weeks, did you or any household member sleep hungry at night because there was not enough food? | 0 = No 1 = Yes |
8a | How often did this happen? | 1 = Rarely (once or twice in the past 4 weeks) 2 = Sometimes (three to ten times in the past 4 weeks) 3 = Often (more than ten times in the past 4 weeks) |
9 | In the past 4 weeks, did you or any household member go a whole day and night without eating anything because there was not enough food? | 0 = No 1 = Yes |
9a | How often did this happen? | 1 = Rarely (once or twice in the past 4 weeks) 2 = Sometimes (three to ten times in the past 4 weeks) 3 = Often (more than ten times in the past 4 weeks) |
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Variable | Household Food Insecurity n (302) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Food-Secure (5.3%) | Mildly Food-Insecure Access (8.6%) | Moderately Food-Insecure Access (22.5%) | Severely Food-Insecure Access (63.6%) | ||||
Frequency (Percentage)/Mean (SD) | Frequency (Percentage)/Mean (SD) | Frequency (Percentage)/Mean (SD) | Frequency (Percentage)/Mean (SD) | Total | Pearson’s Chi-Square | Sig. | |
Income diversification | 4.6 (1.9), min = 1, max = 10 | 2.1 (1.4), min = 1, max = 6 | 2.3 (1.4), min = 1, max = 6 | 1.7 (1.6), min = 1, max = 6 | 302 | 0.000 | |
Farmer | 15 (5.2%) | 24 (8.2%) | 62 (21.3%) | 190 (65.3%) | 291 | 10.4 | 0.015 |
Other employment | 1 (9.1%) | 2 (18.2%) | 6 (54.5%) | 2 (18.2%) | 11 | ||
Total | 16 (5.3) | 26 (8.6%) | 68 (22.5%) | 192 (63.6%) | 302 | ||
Educated | 9 (7.3%) | 24 (19.5%) | 61 (49.6%) | 29 (23.6%) | 123 | 150.0 | 0.000 |
Illiterate | 7 (3.9%) | 2 (1.1%) | 7 (3.9%) | 163 (91.1%) | 179 | ||
Total | 16 (5.3) | 26 (8.6) | 68 (22.5) | 192 (63.6) | 302 | ||
Annual income | |||||||
Low income | 6 (3.1%) | 17 (8.8%) | 41 (21.2%) | 129 (66.8%) | 193 | 31.2 | 0.000 |
Middle income | 6 (6.1%) | 7 (7.1%) | 27 (27.3%) | 59 (59.6%) | 99 | ||
High income | 4 (40.0%) | 2 (20%) | 0 (0.0%) | 4 (40.0%) | 10 | ||
Total | 16 (5.3) | 26 (8.6) | 68 (22.5) | 192 (63.6) | 302 | ||
Small (10 or less) | 15 (7.5%) | 22 (10.9%) | 56 (27.7%) | 108 (53.5%) | 201 | 25.9 | 0.000 |
Large (More than 10) | 1 (1.0%) | 4 (4.0%) | 12 (11.9%) | 84 (83.2%) | 101 | ||
Total | 16 (5.3%) | 26 (8.6%) | 68 (22.5%) | 192 (63.6%) | 302 | ||
Income compared to the previous year | |||||||
Less | 0 (0.0%) | 4 (5.1%) | 0 (0.0%) | 75 (94.9%) | 79 | 78.3 | 0.000 |
Same | 3 (3.2%) | 1 (1.1%) | 24 (25.3%) | 67 (70.5%) | 95 | ||
More | 13 (10.2%) | 21 (16.4%) | 44 (34.4%) | 50 (39.1%) | 128 | ||
Total | 16 (5.3%) | 26 (8.6%) | 68 (22.5%) | 192 (63.6%) | 302 | ||
No | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 7 (4.5%) | 149 (95.5%) | 156 | 143.2 | 0.000 |
Yes | 16 (11%) | 26 (17.8%) | 61 (41.8%) | 43 (29.5%) | 146 | ||
Total | 16 (5.3%) | 26 (8.6%) | 68 (22.5%) | 192 (63.6%) | 302 | ||
Rented | 0 (0.0%) | 1 (10.0%) | 1 (10.0%) | 8 (80.0%) | 10 | 166.7 | 0.000 |
Host with family or relatives | 0 (0.0%) | 2 (3.0%) | 15 (22.4%) | 50 (74.6%) | 67 | ||
Temporary shelter | 0 (0.0%) | 1 (0.8%) | 8 (6.2%) | 121 (93.1%) | 130 | ||
Own house | 16 (16.8%) | 22 (23.2%) | 44 (46.3%) | 13 (13.7%) | 95 | ||
Total | 16 (5.3%) | 26 (8.6%) | 68 (22.5%) | 192 (63.6%) | 302 | ||
Relative holds a government job | |||||||
No | 1 (0.5%) | 2 (0.9%) | 32 (14.7%) | 182 (83.9%) | 217 | 157.5 | 0.000 |
Yes | 15 (17.6%) | 24 (28.2%) | 36 (42.4%) | 10 (11.8%) | 85 | ||
Total | 16 (5.3%) | 26 (8.6%) | 68 (22.5%) | 192 (63.6%) | 302 | ||
Financial situation | |||||||
Comfortable | 16 (19.0%) | 22 (26.2%) | 34 (40.5%) | 12 (14.3%) | 84 | 144.4 | 0.000 |
Struggling | 0 (0.0%) | 4 (1.8%) | 34 (15.6%) | 180 (82.6%) | 218 | ||
Total | 16 (5.3%) | 26 (8.6%) | 68 (22.5%) | 192 (63.6) | 302 | ||
Farm size | 16.4 (5.1), min = 8, max = 25 | 9.0 (5.3), min = 1, max = 20 | 4.8 (3.8), min = 0, max = 20 | 0.7 (1.6), min = 0, max = 12 | 0.000 | ||
Marital status | |||||||
Currently married | 16 (6.9%) | 24 (10.3%) | 8 (3.4%) | 185 (79.4%) | 233 | 213.2 | 0.000 |
Currently single | 0 (0.0%) | 2 (2.9%) | 60 (87.0%) | 7 (10.1%) | 69 | ||
Total | 16 (5.3%) | 26 (8.6%) | 68 (22.5) | 192 (63.6%) | 302 | ||
Male family members | 9.5 (2.6), min = 5, max = 15 | 8.3 (2.6), min = 4, max = 16 | 7.5 (2.9), min = 2, max = 17 | 5.6 (2.2), min = 1, max = 15 | 302 | 0.000 | |
Female family members | 5.9 (1.8), min = 4, max = 11 | 5.0 (2.7), min = 1, max = 12 | 6.3 (3.2), min = 2, max = 23 | 9.1 (3.4), min = 2, max = 21 | 302 | 0.000 | |
Children under 16 | 6.6 (2.0), min = 3, max = 11 | 5.7 (3.4), min = 2, max = 18 | 6.2 (3.7), min = 2, max = 20 | 8.6 (3.0), min = 2, max = 19 | 302 | 0.000 | |
Distance from DB | 13.5 (6.0), min = 8, max = 33 | 17.8 (13.1), min = 8, max = 54 | 15.9 (8.5), min = 8, max = 54 | 24.5 (11.3), min = 8, max = 63 | 302 | 0.016 | |
Distance from CT | 45.6 (51.5), min = 13, max = 167 | 66.2 (62.1), min = 13, max = 188 | 58.3 (38.7), min = 13 Km, max = 188 | 76.8 (54.0), min = 13, max = 200 | 302 | 0.000 | |
Access to transport | |||||||
No | 4 (2.0%) | 14 (7.0%) | 43 (21.4%) | 140 (69.7%) | 201 | 18.1 | 0.000 |
Yes | 12 (11.9%) | 12 (11.9%) | 25 (24.8%) | 52 (51.5%) | 101 | ||
Total | 16 (5.3%) | 26 (8.6%) | 68 (22.5%) | 192 (63.6%) | 302 |
Do You or Your Household Members Face the Following Challenges in Maintaining Food Security Because of Financial Problems/Lack of Resources? | Last Month’s Frequency (%) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Response (%) | Rarely | Sometimes | Often | ||
Worried about being without food | No | 8.28 | |||
Yes | 91.72 | 38.40 | 29.80 | 23.50 | |
You cannot eat whenever you desire | No | 11.26 | |||
Yes | 88.74 | 39.10 | 25.80 | 23.80 | |
Decrease the variety and quality of meals | No | 11.90 | |||
Yes | 88.10 | 32.80 | 32.50 | 22.80 | |
Consume some meals you did not desire to eat | No | 12.90 | |||
Yes | 87.10 | 31.50 | 33.10 | 22.50 | |
Have less food than seems required | No | 16.60 | |||
Yes | 83.40 | 39.40 | 29.50 | 14.60 | |
Limit foods eaten in quantities | No | 24.50 | |||
Yes | 75.50 | 32.50 | 23.20 | 19.90 | |
There is nothing to eat in the family | No | 37.70 | |||
Yes | 62.30 | 21.20 | 26.20 | 14.90 | |
Go to your bed at night hungry | No | 45.40 | |||
Yes | 54.60 | 23.20 | 19.20 | 12.30 | |
Go the entire day and night without eating anything | No | 41.10 | |||
Yes | 58.90 | 28.10 | 20.50 | 10.30 |
Income Sources | Response | N | Percentage (%) |
---|---|---|---|
Contract farming | Yes | 175 | 28.3 |
Animal products | Yes | 120 | 19.4 |
Staple grains | Yes | 60 | 9.7 |
Vegetables | Yes | 41 | 6.6 |
Self-employment | Yes | 41 | 6.6 |
Temporary employment | Yes | 38 | 6.1 |
Handicraft production | Yes | 26 | 4.2 |
Garden fruits | Yes | 23 | 3.7 |
Poultry products | Yes | 15 | 2.4 |
Seasonal migration | Yes | 11 | 1.8 |
Remittances | Yes | 10 | 1.6 |
Permanent employment | Yes | 10 | 1.6 |
Fishery products | Yes | 9 | 1.5 |
NGO programs | Yes | 9 | 1.5 |
Receiving gifts | Yes | 8 | 1.3 |
Small-scale trade | Yes | 5 | 0.8 |
Government programs | Yes | 5 | 0.8 |
Lending farmland | Yes | 4 | 0.6 |
Renting out shop or house | Yes | 4 | 0.6 |
Vehicle for transport | Yes | 2 | 0.3 |
Tractor | Yes | 1 | 0.2 |
Thresher | Yes | 1 | 0.2 |
Pension | Yes | 0 | 0.0 |
Total | 618 | 100 |
Bivariate Odds Ratio | Model 1 (Socio-Economic) Odds Ratio | Model 2 (Bio-Socio-Cultural) Odds Ratio | Model 3 (Locational) Odds Ratio | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Income diversification | 0.622 (0.08) *** | 0.491 (0.15) *** | 0.517 (0.16) *** | 0.490 (0.17) *** |
Main occupation (ref: Other employment) | ||||
Farmer | 4.073 (0.56) * | 0.630 (0.79) | 1.222 (0.84) | 0.989 (0.99) |
Education (ref: Educated) | ||||
Illiterate | 25.509 (0.32) *** | 11.830 (0.49) *** | 10.867 (0.55) *** | 14.813 (0.60) *** |
Annual income (ref: High income) | ||||
Middle income | 6.57 (0.61) ** | 0.532 (0.99) | 0.220 (1.05) | 0.472 (1.13) |
Low income | 8.76 (0.60) *** | 0.560 (0.99) | 0.290 (0.99) | 0.737 (1.11) |
Household size (ref: Large (More than 10)) | ||||
Small (10 or less) | 0.234 (0.29) *** | 0.236 (0.50) ** | 0.279 (0.53) ** | 0.283 (0.55) * |
Income compared to the previous year (ref: More) | ||||
Same | 3.99 (0.28) *** | 5.465 (0.52) *** | 4.49 (0.56) ** | 6.40 (0.59) ** |
Less | 28.69 (0.31) *** | 2.083 (0.70) | 1.89 (0.75) | 2.147 (0.79) |
Land ownership (ref: Yes) | ||||
No | 52.81 (0.43) *** | 6.054 (0.74) ** | 6.475 (0.79) ** | 6.826 (0.81) ** |
Residence tenure status (ref: Own house) | ||||
Temporary shelter | 84.049 (0.44) *** | 2.258 (0.74) | 2.034 (0.80) | 2.078 (0.84) |
Host with family or relatives | 18.551 (0.38) *** | 2.778 (0.63) | 2.257 (0.68) | 2.651 (0.72) |
Rented | 22.832 (0.81) *** | 4.117 (1.30) | 6.139 (1.42) | 7.930 (1.58) |
Relative holds a government job (ref: Yes) | ||||
No | 43.610 (0.35) *** | 4.67 (0.50) ** | 4.18 (0.56) ** | 4.733 (0.59) ** |
Financial situation (ref: Comfortable) | ||||
Struggling | 32.714 (0.33) *** | 17.85 (0.56) *** | 14.639 (0.59) *** | 16.181 (0.64) *** |
Farm size | 0.603 (0.05) *** | 0.783 (0.07) *** | 0.793 (0.06) *** | 0.783 (0.06) *** |
Marital status (ref: Currently single) | ||||
Currently married | 6.043 (0.28) *** | 0.553 (0.49) | 0.414 (0.52) | |
Male family members | 0.702 (0.05) *** | 0.682 (0.12) *** | 0.666 (0.13) *** | |
Female family members | 1.412 (0.05) *** | 1.164 (0.10) | 1.232 (0.11) * | |
Children under 16 | 1.256 (0.04) *** | 1.232 (0.12) | 1.190 (0.12) | |
Distance from district bazaar | 1.107 (0.02) *** | 1.083 (0.03) ** | ||
Distance from the capital town | 1.008 (0.003) ** | 1.001 (0.01) | ||
Access to transport (ref: Yes) | ||||
No | 2.412 (0.24) *** | 0.471 (0.63) | ||
Constant cut1 | −7.19 (1.63) *** | −8.67 (1.94) *** | −7.56 (1.99) *** | |
Constant cut2 | −4.40 (1.48) ** | −5.69 (1.80) ** | −4.43 (1.97) ** | |
Log-likelihood | −96.84 | −89.21 | −83.42 | |
Goodness-of-Fit | ||||
Pearson’s Chi-Square | 357.009 (df = 672), p = 1.000 | 529.725 (df = 884), p = 1.000 | 697.762 (df = 881), p = 1.000 | |
Deviance | 190.920 (df = 672), p = 1.000 | 178.425 (df = 884), p = 1.000 | 166.858 (df = 881), p = 1.000 | |
Pseudo-R-Square | ||||
Cox and Snell R2 | 0.736 | 0.751 | 0.760 | |
Nagelkerke R2 | 0.853 | 0.871 | 0.882 | |
McFadden R2 | 0.672 | 0.702 | 0.721 | |
Observation | 302 | 302 | 302 | 302 |
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Niazi, R.; Liu, A.; Han, J.; Hassan, S.; Elham, H.; Osewe, M. Household Income Diversification and Food Insecurity: A Case Study of Afghanistan. Foods 2025, 14, 2048. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14122048
Niazi R, Liu A, Han J, Hassan S, Elham H, Osewe M. Household Income Diversification and Food Insecurity: A Case Study of Afghanistan. Foods. 2025; 14(12):2048. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14122048
Chicago/Turabian StyleNiazi, Rohullah, Aijun Liu, Jiqin Han, Sherouk Hassan, Hamidullah Elham, and Maurice Osewe. 2025. "Household Income Diversification and Food Insecurity: A Case Study of Afghanistan" Foods 14, no. 12: 2048. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14122048
APA StyleNiazi, R., Liu, A., Han, J., Hassan, S., Elham, H., & Osewe, M. (2025). Household Income Diversification and Food Insecurity: A Case Study of Afghanistan. Foods, 14(12), 2048. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14122048