Exploring the Determinants of Food Security in the Areas of the Nam Theun2 Hydropower Project in Khammuan, Laos
Phouvong Phami, Jianhua He, Dianfeng Liu, Su Ding, Patrik Silva, Li Chun, Zhijiao Qin
Abstract
This article examines the driving forces of food security in the areas of the Nam Theun2 Hydropower Project (NT2) in Khamuan, Laos. A questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data from 100 NT2 resettlement households based on the random sampling technique. A linear regression technique was used to identify the influence of household food insecurity. The result showed that household size, food price, drought, shock, household income per month, number of laborers, gender of the household head, and farmland areas are important factors for household food insecurity. Policies should focus on irrigation that will permit yearlong cultivation. This will in turn become the stimulus for a concatenation of events in the process of development. People will resettle to practice agriculture while also expanding non-agricultural employment. Businesses in skills training, fish processing, textile, services, and crafts will be created, boosting household income. With inevitable population expansion, education in family planning will also be necessary to control population in relation to available resources.