Factors affecting food security of children from corn farming households in Cagayan valley, Philippines

In the Philippines, the adoption of Bt maize has been persistent to address the benefits for smallholder producers. The objective of this study is to identify the factors affecting the food security of children from corn farming households in Cagayan Valley, Philippines. Multi-stage random sampling was used in a cross-sectional study of 1-10-year-old children of corn farmers in the provinces of Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya and Cagayan. In this particular study, a total of 408 children from corn farming households were included. A face-to-face interview was conducted to gather socio-economic and demographic information. Food insecurity was assessed using a nine-item Radimer/Cornell food insecurity measure translated to the Ilocano dialect. Descriptive statistics were performed for all variables to describe the percentage distributions of all Radimer/Cornell food insecurity items. Regression analysis was employed to examine the factors affecting food security. The result of the study revealed that educational attainment of father, occupation of both parents and type of corn grown are significant factors of food security of children from corn farming households. Moreover, parents who have higher educational attainment and whose primary occupation was Bacillus thuringiensis corn farming have food secured children. The result of analysis on the food security of children from this study provides a useful baseline information for future interventions towards the fight against poverty, hunger and malnutrition.