Food Access, Food Consumption, and Children’s Nutritional Status of Smallholder Farmer in Sinabung’s Eruptions-Prone Areas, Indonesia

Abstract

ABSTRACT Destructive impacts resulting from volcanic eruptions affect food production severely, leading to the deterioration of food access and food consumption. Thus, we spotted the urgency of researching food access, household food consumption, and nutritional status of children in Sinabung’s eruptions-prone areas, Indonesia. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 368 (158 farmers only and 228 farmers plus farm laborers) households headed by farmers. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Three indices were used for assessing the nutritional status of children namely weight-for-age (WAZ), height-for-age (HAZ), and weight-for-height (WHZ). Data on household food consumption were collected by using the food consumption score (FCS). The household food consumption among the two groups of farmers was significantly different. Farmers plus farm laborers had a slightly better variety of food since they could collect free vegetables and fruits from the fields where they were working as a farm laborers. Household food consumption was significantly associated with the nutritional status of children. But in the group of farmers-only, the correlation between household food consumption and underweight was not significantly associated. To improve food access and food consumption, the policymakers should provide information about other job opportunities (as an agricultural laborer on another farm) to the farmers, and help them to reach out to those jobs, especially during unpredictable circumstances like Sinabung’s eruptions.