Chapter V

SUMMARY, FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents the summary of the study, its findings, conclusions and

recommendations. These are drawn based on the results obtained by the researchers.

Summary

The study was entitled “Socio-economic determinants of urban agriculture

participation and its effect to food security in selected barangay, Kumintang Ilaya in

Batangas City. The respondents of the study include both participating and non-

participating household of urban agriculture.

This study aimed to determine the socio-economic determinants of urban

agriculture participation and its effect to food security in a selected Barangay in Batangas

City. The independent variable in the study are the socio-economic characteristics such as

the age, education, employment status, number of person in the household, monthly

income and monthly food expenditure. The dependent variable of the study corresponds

to household food security. The study has an intervening variable which is the urban

agriculture participation of household.

This study is determined in explaining the purpose and goal of the paper,

which is to explain the relationship of socio-economic determinants to household

food security and the relationship of the dependent and independent variable when the

urban agriculture participation intervenes. The proponents used tabular representation,

descriptive statistics and underwent lots of tests in order to test the significance of each of

the variables and its status.

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This study used survey questionnaire to gather the data needed for the study. The

survey questionnaire was answered by 348 respondents from Barangay Kumintang Ilaya,

Batangas City. The researchers used tabular analysis in presenting, interpreting, and

analyzing the relationship of socio-economic determinants in household food

security and the relationship of socio-economic determinants in household food

security when urban agriculture intervenes. They also used binary logistic regression to

determine the responsiveness of the relationship of socio-economic determinants that

affect household food security status of household.

The main objective of this study is to examine the effect of the following socio-

economic characteristics: age, education level, employment status, number of person in

the household, monthly income, monthly food expenditure and urban agriculture

participation on food security status of household. The researchers utilized binary logistic

regression. This was done to determine the effect of the chosen variables. It is shown

using logistic regressions and using statistical tools such as frequency count, percentage,

as well as the statistical used in SPSS. Lastly, the researchers created inputs to enhance

some policies based on the results of this study

Findings

Considering all the data generated upon administration of the main data

gathering tool from chosen respondents, the following findings were noted.

1. Based on using the Household Food Security Module (HFSSM) 6 item short, there

are 50.3 percent reflected who are able to access food every day. This finding

indicates that a significant portion of the surveyed population enjoys consistent access
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to adequate and nutritious food, thereby demonstrating a relatively stable food

security status. The total sample size of respondents, consisting of 348 participants,

included 175 individuals, which accounts for 50.3 percent of the sample.

This result underlines the prevalence of food insecurity across a nearly equal part

of the questioned families as 173 respondents, or 49.7% of the overall sample, were

found to fall into the category of "Food Insecure." This significant number of food

insecure families highlights the need for specific measures to improve food security

in these households by implying varied degrees of restricted access to reliable sources

of nutrition.

2. In terms of age, most of the respondents are from Generation X which age ranges

from 43 up until 58 years old having a percentage of 82% of the total sample

population.

Most of the respondents were undergraduate which has a frequency of 218 having

a percentage of 62.6. Meanwhile, respondents who attained highest education is

composed of 130 having a percentage of 37.4.

In terms of employment status, 345 out of 348 respondents are employed which is

equivalent to 99.13 percent of the total respondents. In the total number of employed

there were 123 who were self-employed, since Batangas City is an urbanized area

there are lot of job opportunities for the residents of Batangas City. Securing

employment is a significant requirement for generating income and supporting the

daily needs of a family. This suggests that ensuring adequate food access is dependent

not only on a household's capacity to produce food but also on their ability to access

and buy food from the market.

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Meanwhile, most of the respondents are within the average household size, the

high number of household members ranges from 1- with a frequency count of 259

and a percentage of 74.43. The size of a household reflects the extent of its

consumption requirements and indicates the challenges it encounters in providing

sustenance for its members.

Regarding the respondents' distribution of monthly income, the data showed a

significant pattern. Most of the surveyed households, precisely 144 out of the total

sample, representing a significant percentage of 41.38 percent, reported monthly

incomes of monthly incomes of PHP 18,200 to PHP 36,400 which implies that mostly

of the family at Kumintang Ilaya falls under an Income cluster of low middle income.

In terms of the household’s monthly food expenditure, most household spend

PHP 8,666 and below on their food with a frequency of 149 which is equivalent to

43% of the sample population. According to PSA a family of five needs PHP 8,379 to

meet their food requirements. This shows if a larger family is spending less than the

food threshold they are most likely to experience food insecurity.

3. Most of the household from Kumintang Ilaya does not participate in urban agriculture

with a frequency of 195 and got a percentage of 56. Meanwhile, the 44% of the

sample population which has a frequency of 153 were practicing urban agriculture.

The major constraint experienced by the household were lack of space and time

availability.

4. There are strong correlations between socio-economic characteristics and food

security status among households in Kumintang Ilaya, Batangas City, according to

research on this study. The number of family members and monthly income all have a
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large impact on how secure a household to food is in Kumintang Ilaya, Batangas City.

The results clearly show the importance of these elements in influencing the

community's food security landscape.

The investigation showed a significant correlation between household size and

food security which implies that food insecurity was more likely to occur in

households with more people. The correlation can be due to bigger households'

greater food consumption requirements, which may put a burden on the resources

available and perhaps make ensuring food security challenging.

Monthly income emerged as a critical determinant of food security. The analysis

demonstrated that households with higher monthly incomes were significantly more

likely to achieve "Food Security" status. These households had the financial means to

access a wider variety of food items, including fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy

products, and protein sources. Conversely, households with lower monthly incomes

faced increased challenges in maintaining food security, often relying on more limited

and less diverse food options.

5. Participation in urban agriculture was discussed in the study as an intervening

variable in the relationship between socioeconomic characteristics and food security.

Household size and monthly income has a significant effect on food security when

urban agriculture intervenes as larger families often require more resources to

maintain food security for all members. With urban agriculture interventions,

households may have the opportunity to grow their own food, thereby reducing the

financial burden of purchasing groceries and enhancing food security and higher

incomes can enable households to allocate funds for seeds, equipment, and other
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necessities, making it easier to engage in urban agriculture. However, the level of

significance of urban agriculture participation does not show positive result which

states that there is only a 30% probability of being food secure when household

participates in urban agriculture despite of their socio-economic characteristics status.

6. Boosting income levels, decreasing household sizes, and improving work chances.

Initiatives like job placement services, skill development programs, and income-

generating enterprises might assist in easing financial restrictions.

While the study found that urban agriculture did not significantly contribute to

food security, the result shows household size and monthly income has a significant

effect on food security when urban agriculture intervenes. Investigate methods to

increase the benefits of urban agriculture, such as giving urban farmers support,

resources, and training. Urban agriculture may play a bigger part in ensuring food

security if community gardens are encouraged, access to arable land is made easier,

and sustainable farming methods are promoted.

A social safety net program's creation or growth is an option to consider. These

initiatives may consist of cash transfer programs, specialized food aid, and nutrition

help for disadvantaged groups. When facing financial difficulty, social safety nets can

serve as a crucial cushion.

Conclusion

In this section are the conclusions that the researchers came up, based on the

findings generated in the study.

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1. In the Household Food Security where it presents the food security status obtained

by Barangay Kumintang Ilaya showed that most of the respondents from the sample

population are experiencing food security.

2. In the Socio-Economic Characteristics indicate the status of the household head

showed that majority of the respondents are from Generation X, numerous household

heads are undergraduate and employed, households have a small amount member in

their family, monthly income in the household around PHP 18,200 up to 36,400

which falls under Low Middle Income Earners, majority of the respondents spend

8,666 and below on monthly food expenditure.

3. Most of the respondents from sample population does not participate in urban

agriculture as they faced constraint such as lack of space and availability of time.

4. Household food security is significantly affected by household size and monthly

income. The higher the household size, the higher the monthly income should be to

attain food security.

5. Household Size and Monthly Income is significantly affected food security when

urban agriculture intervenes, larger families may benefit from growing their own

food, while higher incomes enable engagement in urban agriculture. Urban

Agriculture is not significant in determining the food security status of households

from Kumintang Ilaya.

6. The proposed inputs recommended in this study will improve projects and

programs that relates to food security and urban agriculture participation.

Recommendation
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Prior to the conclusions and findings, the researchers hereby propose the

following recommendation:

1. The researchers recommend providing more information regarding family

planning in order for household to enhance their knowledge on the

consequences of having larger family which can have an effect to their food

security.

2. The researchers is recommending a collaborating with various organizations

for the barangay can facilitate job placement opportunities.

3. The researchers recommend strengthening the urban agriculture activity and

crate more seminars and trainings that can enhance people knowledge

regarding it and provide incentives to encourage people engage in urban

agriculture.

4. Future researchers and economics students are encouraging to do further

analysis regarding this study. Particularly, the researchers are encouraging

future researchers with the same interest on studying the effect of urban

agriculture towards food security to use dietary diversity score as a

dependent variable.

5. Policymakers may be able to develop better policies that can address the

effect of various socio-economic determinants on food security status.