Current Situation of Household Food Security of Smallholder Farmers: A Case Study in Walallawita Divisional Secretariat Division, Kalutara District, Sri Lanka

Purpose: Food security refers to people’s ability to obtain the food they need to stay healthy at any time. The main aim of this study was to assess the level of food security among smallholder farmers in the Walallawita Divisional Secretariat Division in Kalutara District, Sri Lanka, using a single case study approach.
Research Method: Data were collected from a randomly selected sample of 221 smallholder farmers within the Walallawita Divisional Secretariat Division during the period spanning July to September 2023. A pre-tested questionnaire was used to conduct a household survey. Descriptive statistics were utilised to analyse socio-economic data, cultivation data and food insecurity coping strategies, where the household food security status was assessed and categorised using a widely accepted household food insecurity access scale tool. Moreover, the Multinomial Logistic Regression Model was utilised to investigate the influence of different factors on household food security.
Findings and Values: Only a small fraction (1.4%) of the participants could be classified as food secure. A significant portion faced varying degrees of food insecurity: 35.6% experienced mild food insecurity, 18.5% encountered moderate food insecurity, and a substantial portion (44.6%) grappled with severe food insecurity. According to the multinomial logistic regression model, odds ratios, land size, on-farm income, gender, and three coping strategies exhibited a positive impact on the likelihood of achieving food security or experiencing lower levels of food insecurity compared to a severe food insecurity situation. The findings imply the necessity of empowering policymakers to prioritise training, credit access, and land productivity, driving targeted interventions to strengthen smallholder farmers’ food security.