Journal of Geographical Studies of Mountainous Areas

Journal of Geographical Studies of Mountainous Areas

Evaluation of the role of social resilience on the food security of rural areas during the corona epidemic(case study: central part of Zanjan township)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Siddiqa Mozafari Qarabolag 1
Behroz Mohamadi yeganeh 2
Mehdi Cheraghi 3
1 PhD student in Geography and Rural Planning, Department of Geography, Faculty of Humanities, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran.
2 Associate Professor, Department of Geography, Faculty of Humanities, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran.
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, Faculty of Humanities, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran.
10.22034/gsma.2025.2041876.1025
Abstract
Introduction

Following the coronavirus pandemic crisis in various parts of the world, the coronavirus pandemic in Iran was officially confirmed on February 20, 2020. Since March 20, 2020, the situation in Iran has changed from white to yellow. According to the Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education of Iran, as of noon on Friday, May 2, 2020, out of 475,233 COVID-19 diagnostic tests conducted in Iran, 95,646 infected patients have been identified, of which 6,091 have died, and 76,318 people infected with the virus have recovered so far. In the villages of the central part of Zanjan city, with the formation of the Corona pandemic, these villages have not been safe from the negative effects of this disease. Studies show that between 2010 and 2012, a total of 9,841 residents of the villages of the central part of Zanjan city were infected with this disease and 217 people lost their lives. One of the effects of the Corona pandemic is on the food insecurity of these villages. In recent years, due to the excessive dependence of the villagers on one source of income (agriculture) and due to seasonality and the lack of a fixed source of income, most rural households have had problems with their livelihoods. With the passage of time and the reduction of the active workforce in the field of agriculture, households have lost a significant part of their income and due to the lack of sufficient access to nutrients, education, and health care, they are more vulnerable to external shocks and have a low level of resilience. In this regard, the present study examines the effects of social resilience on the food insecurity of these villages. According to the problem statement, the questions of the present research are: 1- What is the level of food security in the villages of the central part of Zanjan city? 2- What is the relationship between social resilience indicators and food security among the villages under study?
 

Methodology

The present research is applied in terms of type and descriptive-analytical in nature. The statistical population of the present research includes all inhabited villages in the central part of Zanjan city. According to the statistical yearbook of 1400, the central part of Zanjan city has 106 inhabited villages. Considering the large number of villages in the district, 24 villages from different population groups were selected as study villages using the probability sampling method (lottery method) to complete the questionnaire. These villages have 2471 households and 7961 people. Using the Cochran formula, the number of samples required to complete the questionnaire was 380 samples. The time period for completing the questionnaire is in 1401. The methods and tools for collecting information in the present research include library and field methods (questionnaire). The independent variable in the present research is social resilience and the dependent variable is the food security status of households in the rural settlements under study. To examine the effects of social resilience, indicators were developed in two subjective and objective dimensions. In the objective dimension, 15 indicators were used, and the information for these indicators was extracted and calculated from the culture of the settlements. In the subjective dimension, 6 dimensions and 24 indicators were used. In order to examine the validity of the indicators, a questionnaire was provided to the relevant experts and necessary amendments were made to improve the face and structural validity. Cronbach's alpha method was also used to estimate the reliability value; which studies show that the indicators have appropriate reliability.
 

Results

Descriptive findings related to the percentage of food insecurity in the rural districts of the central part of Zanjan city show that the average percentage of food insecurity is 35.38 percent, the highest percentage of food insecurity is related to Taham rural district with 40.76 percent, and the lowest percentage of food insecurity is related to Mujezat rural district with 29.83 percent. To analyze the effects of objective social resilience indicators on food insecurity, weighted geographic regression was used. Based on the results obtained from this spatial analysis tool, the width was calculated to be 0.167, the residual squares were 2751, the effective number was 12.51, the sigma was 4.24, and the coefficient of determination, which measures the linear relationship between two variables, was calculated to be 0.74. Studies show that out of the 24 villages studied, the relationship between food security and the reduction in deaths due to COVID-19 is significant in 19 villages. Therefore, it can be said that social resilience is effective on food insecurity in the villages studied.
 

Discussion

The evaluation of the results related to spatial autocorrelation between social resilience and food insecurity indicators among the studied villages shows that there is spatial autocorrelation between the indicators of population growth rate, household size, percentage of young population, primary education coverage, net migration, population aging index, male literacy rate, female literacy rate, total literacy rate, and access to health care and food insecurity. Among them, the largest effects are related to the population aging index and percentage of young population.
 

Conclusion

In the face of health crises such as the coronavirus outbreak, accurate and reliable information is crucial. In societies with strong social capital, individuals can quickly learn new information, share health advice and recommendations, and thereby provide greater resilience for themselves and others to maintain their own and others' food security. In critical situations such as the outbreak of a disease and the resulting deaths, individuals can better implement preventive and protective measures to maintain a standard food basket by cooperating and supporting each other. This social solidarity can help the population's resilience to the disease and lead to a reduction in mortality and the spread of the disease, the findings also showed. Social trust can be important in promoting cooperation and solidarity in the face of a crisis. In the case of the coronavirus, trust in the health system, leaders, and health and medical professionals can lead to better and more efficient implementation of preventive measures, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease. Also, trust in neighbors and other people in the community can lead to better compliance with health guidelines and medical advice, which will ultimately have a direct impact on resilience against COVID-19.
Keywords
Resilience
Corona pandemic
rural development
Zanjan province
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Journal of Geographical Studies of Mountainous Areas
Volume 6, Issue 1 - Serial Number 21
Spring
Winter 2025
Pages 65-86