Abstract:
This study investigates the determinants of household food security in Indonesia, with particular
emphasis on climate variability. The panel data at the household level combined with rainfall and
temperature data from 2001 to 2006 for a sample of households living in Central Sulawesi at the
rainforest margin, Indonesia. The principal component analysis applied to develop an indicator
of food security and a panel econometric model to study its determinants. The findings suggest
that rainfall, temperature, area cultivated, access to credit and household human capital measured
by age, maximum education and household size are the main drivers and thus determinants of
household food security over time. Climate variation in rainfall and temperature, as well as
household size, negatively affects food security. In particular, the variability in rainfall leads to
declines of 33% and 15% in the availability and stability of food in the household, respectively.
While increasing the area cultivated, access to credit, the household's age and the family's
education level are the main factors promoting food security over time. |
