International Journal of Social Science Research (IJSSR)

The Role of Rural Women in Household Food Security for Sustainable Livelihood: A Case Study on Natua and Jalduar Village of Puruliya District, West Bengal

In the twenty-first century, the pursuit of food security remains a major challenge, especially for developing countries. At the household level, proper nutritional management through the contribution of rural women is capable of helping the reduction of hunger, food insecurity and ultimately reaching a sustainable livelihood. However, the role of rural women in ensuring household food security is now unrecognized in the developmental policy. This study was undertaken to explore the distinct participation of rural women in food security at the household level. Primary data were obtained by household survey using structured questionnaires from Natua and Jalduar village of Puruliya II block of Puruliya District. A total of 60 households particularly aged between 20 to 70 years women were selected based on a simple random sampling method. To organize and summarize field data used a frequency distribution table and percentage calculation. To determine food security status, the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) household food security scale was used, to examine the relationship between household food security and the particular role played by women log linear model was also utilized. The survey result indicates that socioeconomic and demographic variables such as age group, and marital status, income, education, and occupation did not create a significant impact on household food security. Evidence from the household survey also showed that about 60% of households were food insecure with hunger and severe conditions, 26% out of them were faced with food security without hunger, and only 13% experienced food security in the study area. This finding should be useful for govt. and policy makers to make attempts to change the socio-economic condition and diversification in the role of rural women with a more focused approach to dealing with food security at the household level. KEYWORDS: Food Security; Rural Women; Household; Sustainable Livelihood