Food Security Among the Poor in Rural and Urban Areas: An Overview of Social Capital, Self-Efficacy, and Nutrition Knowledge

Abstract

Poverty remains a major challenge for both developed and developing countries as it encompasses various aspects of household life. According to the Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2018 report published by the World Bank at the end of 2018, Indonesia was identified as the country with the highest contribution to extreme poverty in East Asia and the Pacific (World Bank, 2018). Data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) in 2023 show that 25.9 million people in rural and urban areas still experience hunger, and 9.36% of Indonesia’s population is classified as poor (BPS, 2023). Cianjur Regency is one of the five areas in West Java with the highest extreme poverty rate, reaching 234,500 people (BPS Cianjur Regency, 2020). In 2021, the number of poor residents in Cianjur reached its five-year peak at 260,000 people (BPS Cianjur Regency, 2021). Data from BPS and the Cianjur Social Affairs Office indicate that the overall poverty rate in the regency increased from 10% in 2020 to 11.18% in 2021. This situation placed Cianjur among the regencies mandated by Presidential Instruction No. 4/2022 on the Acceleration of Extreme Poverty Eradication in Indonesia. Poverty limits access to food, which leads to hunger and, ultimately, food insecurity (Zakiah, 2016). Cianjur Regency is administratively centered in Cianjur District and borders Bogor and Purwakarta Regencies to the north; Bandung, West Bandung, and Garut Regencies to the east; the Indian Ocean to the south; and Sukabumi Regency to the west. Most of Cianjur consists of mountainous areas, except for a narrow lowland strip along the southern coast. Geographically, the regency is divided into three development zones; Northern Zone (16 districts including Cianjur, Cilaku, Warungkondang, Gekbrong, Cibeber, Karangtengah, Sukaluyu, Ciranjang, Bojongpicung, Mande, Cikalongkulon, Cugenang, Sukaresmi, Cipanas, Pacet, and Haurwangi), Central Zone (9 districts including Sukanagara, Takokak, Campaka, Campakamulya, Tanggeung, Pagelaran, Leles, Cijati, and Kadupandak), Southern Zone (7 districts including Cibinong, Agrabinta, Sindangbarang, Cidaun, Naringgul, Cikadu, and Pasirkuda). ...