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FOOD SECURITY
Table 7.8: Average number of days of food consumption per week, by residence, and by selected food items
Food item Residence
Urban Rural
Kuchi National
Cereals 7.0
7.0 7.0
7.0 Tubers
2.9 2.6
2.2 2.6
Meat and ish 3.3
2.3 1.7
2.5 Pulses
2.1 1.6
1.5 1.8
Dairy 3.2
3.4 4.3
3.4 Oil and fats
6.7 6.5
6.7 6.5
Vegetables 2.8
1.7 1.8
2.0 Fruits
3.2 1.8
1.1 2.1
Nuts 0.4
0.3 0.0
0.3 Sugar
6.7 5.9
5.9 6.1
7.8.2 Food Consumption Score
Food consumption can be measured based on the food consumption score FCS
5
which is normally used as a proxy to measure food security when quantitative data on calorie intake is not available. As described earlier, since the NRVA
2011-12 provides suficient quantitative data on calorie intake, the food security level in this report is determined based on the caloric quantity consumed per person per day against the recommended daily calorie requirement. However,
in order to strengthen the calorie intake analysis and conirm the relevance of alternative uses of the FCS in rotating years of the NRVA in the future, the relationship between caloric intake and FCS is explored. As such, calorie intake
is cross-tabulated with the FCS. Findings show a clear relationship between FCS and caloric intake. In all urban, rural and Kuchi populations, the proportion of households with acceptable food consumption score consistently increased
with better caloric intake. Overall, the percentage of households with adequate caloric intake accounts for 65 percent among households with an acceptable food consumption score, while it is much lower 36 percent among those with
a poor food consumption score. In urban areas, 57 percent of the households with adequate caloric intake are found among those with acceptable food consumption score, while this proportion is only 20 percent among those with poor
food consumption score. A similar pattern is found for the rural and the Kuchi populations, where 68 percent of the rural households and 64 percent of the Kuchi households with acceptable food consumption also have adequate caloric
intake – much higher than among those with poor food consumption score Figure 7.4.
5 The Food Consumption Score FCS is an acceptable proxy indicator to measure caloric intake and diet quality at household level, giving an indication of food security status of the household if combined with other household access indicators. It is a composite score based on dietary diversity, food frequency,
and relative nutritional importance of different food groups. The FCS is calculated based on the past 7-day food consumption recall for the household and classiied into three categories: poor consumption FCS = 1.0 to ≤28; borderline FCS = 28.1 to ≤42; and acceptable consumption FCS = 42.0. The FCS
is a weighted sum of food groups. The score for each food group is calculated by multiplying the number of days the commodity was consumed and its rela- tive weight.
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FOOD SECURITY
Figure 7.4: Households, by Kcal intake, and by residence, Food Consumption Score in percentages
10 20
30 40
50 60
70 80
90 100
P o
o r
B o
rd e
rl in
e
A c
c e
p ta
b le
T o
ta l
P o
o r
B o
rd e
rl in
e
A c
c e
p ta
b le
T o
ta l
P o
o r
B o
rd e
rl in
e
A c
c e
p ta
b le
T o
ta l
P o
o r
B o
rd e
rl in
e
A c
c e
p ta
b le
T o
ta l
Urban Rural
Kuchi National
63 36
27 33
50 34
20 27
34 27
21 23
51 36
22 28
18
13 16
16 12
13 12
12 27
10 15
15 13
13 13
13 20
51 57
52 38
53 68
61 38
63 64
62 36
51 65
59
K c
a l i
n ta
k e
in p
e rc
e n
ta g
e s
Residence, Food Consumption Score Very severe to moderate deficit
Borderline Adequate
7.8.3 Contribution of different food groups to caloric intake
The mean calorie intake per person per day is calculated at 2,749 Kcal, and a median of 2,582 Kcal, with no signiicant difference between residential population groups 2,642 Kcal in urban; 2,788 Kcal in rural, and 2,794 Kcal among the
Kuchi. However, the average total calorie intake signiicantly varies among food security groups. The food insecure consume 1,669 Kcal, which is only 79 percent of the recommended daily requirement of 2,100 Kcal, and this low calorie
intake is similar among the food insecure of all population groups. Meanwhile, the borderline population consumes 2,284 Kcal on average and the food-secure population 3,382 Kcal.
Of the total calorie intake, cereals and tubers contribute 67 percent; oils and fats 13 percent; meat, ish, pulses and dairy products 11 percent; vegetables and fruits 4 percent; and sugar 5 percent. The contribution of cereals and tubers is
slightly higher in rural areas and among the Kuchi households, respectively at 69 percent and 68 percent of total calories, as compared to 61 percent in urban areas. However, within each population group, the proportion of calories contributed
by cereals and tubers is relatively similar across all food security groups.
Oil and fats contribute 15 percent of the total calories in urban areas, 12 percent in rural areas and 11 percent among the Kuchi. Dairy and its products are consumed at a slightly higher rate by the Kuchi – at 7 percent of the total calories,
as compared to 5 percent and 4 percent in rural and urban areas, respectively. The urban population consumes slightly more sugar products – at 7 percent of total calories as compared to 5 percent in rural areas and among the Kuchi. The
contribution of other foods such as pulses, meat and ish, vegetables and fruits is minimal, at only 1 to 4 percent, and it is similar across all areas as well all food security groups.
7.9 Coping with shocks
When coping with household shocks, the majority of households 62 to 80 percent use short-term strategies including decreasing food expenditure, reducing food quality, and taking loans or credit. Around one-third of the households
reduce food quantity or purchase food on trader credit Table 7.9.
