FOOD SECURITY ANALYSISIN KOHGILUYEHAND BOYER-AHMAD PROVICE CASE STUDY: HOUSEHOLDS

Purpose and background : Since household food security is one of the goals of economic, social and cultural development programs in the country, it is important to estimate the level of household food security. This estimation is done through various indices such as Aggregate Household Food Security Index (AHFSI) 1. This index was first proposed by the FAO. Using this index, the present article tries to estimate the level of household food security in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province. Materials and methods : for Assessment of rural & urban household food security in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province in south of Iran we used the AHFSI index by FAO. Accordingly, to calculate the AHFSI index in households of the province, we first calculated the Gini coefficient of expenditures distribution among the poor as an alternative for the distribution of energy and protein index among the poor. Afterwards, we determined the food poverty level based on the percentage of persons whose energy intake was below the needed 2300 calories. Finally, we calculated the food poverty depth, i.e. the relative food poverty gap. Findings : These results indicate that in total, given the situation of the three aforementioned elements, the overall food security index in urban communities of the province in terms of energy intake had a downward trend from 2004 to 2009 which decreased from 99% to 60% and again increased to 81% in 2011, but it was still lower than the level in 2004. So in rural communities the food security index in terms of protein intake, like in terms of energy intake, had a downward trend from 2004 to 2009 which decreased from 99% to 61% and again increased to 80% in 2011, but it was still lower than the level in 2004. Conclusion : In general, the results of the decomposable index of food security at the household level show that food security supply is at a high level in urban and rural communities in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province.