Poverty, household food security, and nutrition in rural Pakistan

Key findings of the report, which covered fluctuations in income, consumption, savings, nutrition, and health seeking behavior, included the following. (1) Despite the fact that all sample households were rural, their sources of livelihood were not strictly agricultural. Hence, rural development strategies should go beyond agricultural development to credit for non-farm enterprises, infrastructure development, and education. (2) Even though most income is derived from agriculture, income from livestock development and nonfarm investments was found to decrease the high level of income inequality found in rural areas. (3) Fluctuations in income were considerable, but did not translate into fluctuations in calorie intake; nor was any evidence of seasonality in consumption detected. (4) Calorie-intake elasticities in the sample households imply that it would require a 30% increase in income to achieve a 10% rise in calorie consumption. Underconsumption of calories in the poorest households is unlikely to change in the normal course of economic development. The report recommends increased investment in the education of women as key to achieving better nutrition and increasing household incomes. The study also notes that increases in calories will improve health and nutrition only if existing high rates of infection are also addressed by high-quality community health, sanitation, water supply, and public drainage services.