Household and Community Social Capital Links to Smallholder Food Security
Agricultural adaptation to climate change is critical for ensuring future food security. Social capital is important for climate change adaptation, but institutions and social networks at multiple scales (e.g., household, community, and institution) have been overlooked in studying agricultural clim...
Main Authors: | , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-03-01
|
Series: | Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.583353/full |
id |
doaj-46f8f20ac4334d30bd953aff0c4051e6 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-46f8f20ac4334d30bd953aff0c4051e62021-03-03T04:46:19ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems2571-581X2021-03-01510.3389/fsufs.2021.583353583353Household and Community Social Capital Links to Smallholder Food SecurityMeredith T. Niles0Meredith T. Niles1Jessica Rudnick2Mark Lubell3Laura Cramer4Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences and Food Systems Program, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United StatesGund Institute for Environment, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United StatesDepartment of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United StatesDepartment of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United StatesCGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), Alliance of Bioversity International and International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Nairobi, KenyaAgricultural adaptation to climate change is critical for ensuring future food security. Social capital is important for climate change adaptation, but institutions and social networks at multiple scales (e.g., household, community, and institution) have been overlooked in studying agricultural climate change adaptation. We combine data from 13 sites in 11 low-income countries in East Africa, West Africa, and South Asia to explore how multiple scales of social capital relate to household food security outcomes among smallholder farmers. Using social network theory, we define three community organizational social network types (fragmented defined by lack of coordination, brokered defined as having a strong central actor, or shared defined by high coordination) and examine household social capital through group memberships. We find community and household social capital are positively related, with higher household group membership more likely in brokered and shared networks. Household group membership is associated with more than a 10% reduction in average months of food insecurity, an effect moderated by community social network type. In communities with fragmented and shared organizational networks, additional household group memberships is associated with consistent decreases in food insecurity, in some cases up to two months; whereas in brokered networks, reductions in food insecurity are only associated with membership in credit groups. These effects are confirmed by hierarchical random effects models, which control for demographic factors. This suggests that multiple scales of social capital—both within and outside the household—are correlated with household food security. This social capital may both be bridging (across groups) and bonding (within groups) with different implications for how social capital structure affects food security. Efforts to improve food security could recognize the potential for both household and community level social networks and collaboration, which further research can capture by analyzing multiple scales of social capital data.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.583353/fullclimate changeagriculturenetwork analysissocial networksfood securityorganization |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Meredith T. Niles Meredith T. Niles Jessica Rudnick Mark Lubell Laura Cramer |
spellingShingle |
Meredith T. Niles Meredith T. Niles Jessica Rudnick Mark Lubell Laura Cramer Household and Community Social Capital Links to Smallholder Food Security Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems climate change agriculture network analysis social networks food security organization |
author_facet |
Meredith T. Niles Meredith T. Niles Jessica Rudnick Mark Lubell Laura Cramer |
author_sort |
Meredith T. Niles |
title |
Household and Community Social Capital Links to Smallholder Food Security |
title_short |
Household and Community Social Capital Links to Smallholder Food Security |
title_full |
Household and Community Social Capital Links to Smallholder Food Security |
title_fullStr |
Household and Community Social Capital Links to Smallholder Food Security |
title_full_unstemmed |
Household and Community Social Capital Links to Smallholder Food Security |
title_sort |
household and community social capital links to smallholder food security |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems |
issn |
2571-581X |
publishDate |
2021-03-01 |
description |
Agricultural adaptation to climate change is critical for ensuring future food security. Social capital is important for climate change adaptation, but institutions and social networks at multiple scales (e.g., household, community, and institution) have been overlooked in studying agricultural climate change adaptation. We combine data from 13 sites in 11 low-income countries in East Africa, West Africa, and South Asia to explore how multiple scales of social capital relate to household food security outcomes among smallholder farmers. Using social network theory, we define three community organizational social network types (fragmented defined by lack of coordination, brokered defined as having a strong central actor, or shared defined by high coordination) and examine household social capital through group memberships. We find community and household social capital are positively related, with higher household group membership more likely in brokered and shared networks. Household group membership is associated with more than a 10% reduction in average months of food insecurity, an effect moderated by community social network type. In communities with fragmented and shared organizational networks, additional household group memberships is associated with consistent decreases in food insecurity, in some cases up to two months; whereas in brokered networks, reductions in food insecurity are only associated with membership in credit groups. These effects are confirmed by hierarchical random effects models, which control for demographic factors. This suggests that multiple scales of social capital—both within and outside the household—are correlated with household food security. This social capital may both be bridging (across groups) and bonding (within groups) with different implications for how social capital structure affects food security. Efforts to improve food security could recognize the potential for both household and community level social networks and collaboration, which further research can capture by analyzing multiple scales of social capital data. |
topic |
climate change agriculture network analysis social networks food security organization |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.583353/full |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT meredithtniles householdandcommunitysocialcapitallinkstosmallholderfoodsecurity AT meredithtniles householdandcommunitysocialcapitallinkstosmallholderfoodsecurity AT jessicarudnick householdandcommunitysocialcapitallinkstosmallholderfoodsecurity AT marklubell householdandcommunitysocialcapitallinkstosmallholderfoodsecurity AT lauracramer householdandcommunitysocialcapitallinkstosmallholderfoodsecurity |
_version_ |
1724233426672812032 |