The linkage between cash crops choice and food security of rural household in Indonesia

Abstract

The increasing concern of food security has guided agricultural transformation as a means for economic development and poverty alleviation. This paper aims to explore the main interaction between the transformations of agriculture on cash crop choice to the food security of rural households in Indonesia. The principal component analysis is applied (PCA) to generate an index of food security over components of availability, accessibility and food stability on the food security of the households over time. The analysis is based on a household panel data survey (2001, 2006 and 2013) in the rain forest region of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The findings show that choosing cash crops enhances the food security of a household. Cocoa was found to have significant positive implications on improving food security, particularly by ensuring food accessibility and food stability of the rural household.