Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF NATIONAL FOOD SECURITY ACT (NFSA) AT HOUSEHOLD LEVEL IN VARANASI DISTRICT OF UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA

Mukesh Kumar Maurya, P.S. Badal, V. Kamalvanshi and Pradeep Joliya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the status of household food security of poor households belonging to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) in Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh. The data were collected from 300 individuals from 50 households located in 2 villages through simple random sampling. The Aggregate Household Food Security Index (AHFSI) developed by FAO was used to evaluate the household food security situation. The value of the AHFSI ranges from “zero” (i.e. total famine) to “100” (i.e. risk free food security). Between 75 and 85 is categorized as sufficient level of food security. The results revealed that the valueof AHFSI was 79.04, which is between 75 to 85 cateogoryand shows that there is sufficient level of food security in our target area.