Future of Food: Journal on Food

Household food security: Trends and determinants in mountainous districts of Nepal

Ganesh R. Joshi
Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority, Nepal
Binaya Joshi
Ministry of Population and Environment, Nepal.

This paper assesses household food security and identifies the factors affecting it in two mountainous districts of Nepal using census data from 2011/12. A binary logit model has been used because the dependent variable is dichotomous. In the study districts, farmland expansion was the major contributor to the increased production of major crops over the period 1974/75 to 2013/14. The yield growth of major crops, with the exception of potato and wheat, remained below the population growth in these districts. On average, households experienced no food shortages for about 9 months out of the year; cultivated land per household was 0.63 ha, of which around 29% was irrigated; 22% of the households were female headed; and 60% of the households worked in allied activities alongside agriculture. The results show that household food security was positively affected by the following variables: male-headed household, household members with both agricultural and allied occupation, age of the household head, percentage of irrigated area, number of livestock owned by the household, and owner operator. Household food security was negatively affected by the variables household size and time taken to reach the nearest market. Taplejung district’s food security was better than that of the Bajura district. The findings imply that female-headed households need support in order to improve their food security. There is a need for on-farm value-added processing and off-farm employment opportunities, which could be provisioned by financial support and development of the required technical and managerial skills. Public investment should be increased in markets, roads and irrigation infrastructure development in rural areas. Moreover, improving access to

Keywords : Agriculture ,Mountains ,Food Security .

Myanmar High School Students’ Perceptions of College and International Readiness in Western Society

Mark Speckien
Louisiana Tech University
Mark Speckien
Louisiana Tech University
International students are more likely to experience mental health issues and increased stress. Mental health is often surrounded by negative societal stigmas that act as barriers to seeking support and tend to lead to greater mental health concerns. International students tend to seek socioemotional support from other international student peers rather than seeking out counseling services. However, this study shows that LGBTQIA+ international students were less likely to seek socioemotional support from other international student peers due to fear of their sexual orientation being discovered and their families finding out about their identity. This study examines how LGBTQIA+ international students talk about their experiences on and off campus in relations to their socioemotional well-being. Specifically, this study sought to better understand the complexities of LGBTQIA+ students’ identities, and the challenges they faced in terms of their socioemotional well-being. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.
Keywords : international students, socioemotional well-being, mental health, identity development, intersectionality, LGBTQIA