Exploring the nexus between natural disasters and food (in)security: Evidence from rural Bangladesh

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) emphasise the reduction of poverty, hunger, and food insecurity as prerequisites for the economic development of a country. This paper examines how natural disaster shocks affect the food security of rural households in Bangladesh. We utilise the latest edition of the Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS) produced by the International Food Policy Research Institute to understand the determinants of food security. In contrast to the existing literature, we use the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) to measure household food security. The empirical result from an ordered logit regression suggests that households that are exposed to natural disaster shocks are more likely to be food insecure compared with households that have not been exposed to such shocks. Furthermore, international remittances increase food security, while domestic remittances do not significantly affect household food security. The study also found that the marital status and education of the household head, household indebtedness, household size, education, expenditures and landownership significantly affect food security. Our findings underscore the importance of investing in the development of infrastructure and food storage facilities in rural communities to tackle food insecurity. Moreover, increasing technical knowledge and improving the quality of education are vital to strengthen food security in Bangladesh.