LAND TENURE SYSTEM AND FOOD SECURITY IN A SELECTED AREA OF MYMENSINGH DISTRICT

Abstract

Food security status of share and cash tenant farmers was examined by employing the food security index. Primary data were collected for 60 randomly selected respondents (30 share tenants and 30 cash tenants) from Narayanpur and Bhabokhali villages under Sadar Upazila of Mymensingh district. The socio-demographic analysis of the study indicated that cash tenants had a slightly higher family size (5.10) than that of share tenants (4.97). The educational status of the cash tenant household members was moderately better than that of share tenant household members. Most of the male members of tenant households (24.29 percent of share tenant and 19.74 percent of cash tenant households) had farming as the principal occupation. A significant difference in the average size of land holding between share tenant (0.579 ha) and cash tenant farmers (0.612 ha) was also observed. Socio-demographic characteristics differ between the two tenure groups. The average daily per capita calorie intake was significantly higher for the households under cash tenancy (2,198.20 kcal) than that of the households under share tenancy (1,944.15 kcal). The estimated food security indices for share tenant and cash tenant households were 0.92 and 1.02, respectively. The study concluded that the extent of food security situation was much better among the cash tenant households than that of the share tenant households based on various food security measures and thereby land tenure systems clearly affect the food security situation of selected households.