The Identification of the Factors Related to Household Food Insecurity among Indigenous People (Orang Asli) in Peninsular Malaysia under Traditional Food Systems

Over the course of 16 years, a high percentage of Orang Asli (OA) households in Malaysia has been found to be burdened with food insecurity. Therefore, a study was conducted to improve the understanding of the challenges faced by the OA in Peninsular Malaysia to achieve food security under tradition...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nutrients 2018-10, Vol.10 (10), p.1455
Main Authors: Law, Leh Shii, Norhasmah, Sulaiman, Gan, Wan Ying, Siti Nur'Asyura, Adznam, Mohd Nasir, Mohd Taib
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Agriculture
Animals
Asian Continental Ancestry Group
challenges
Child
Diet
Ethnic Groups
Family Characteristics
Feeding Behavior
Female
food insecurity
Food Supply
Humans
in-depth interview
Malaysia
Male
Middle Aged
Orang Asli
Poverty
Risk Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult
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Summary:Over the course of 16 years, a high percentage of Orang Asli (OA) households in Malaysia has been found to be burdened with food insecurity. Therefore, a study was conducted to improve the understanding of the challenges faced by the OA in Peninsular Malaysia to achieve food security under traditional food systems. In this study, in-depth interview sessions, which were assisted by an interview protocol, were conducted with 61 OA women from nine villages that were selected purposefully across three states (Kelantan, Pahang, and Perak) in Peninsular Malaysia. Furthermore, thematic analysis was performed during data analysis. As a result, four themes were identified, namely (i) the failure in agriculture (sub-themes: threats from wild animals and insufficient land supply), (ii) ineffectiveness of traditional food-seeking activities (sub-themes: exhausting, tiring, dangerous, and time-consuming journey for food-seeking activities, depletion of natural commodities, reduced demands of natural commodities, and lack of equipment), (iii) weather (sub-themes: rainy and dry seasons), and (iv) water issues (subthemes: continuity of water supply and cleanliness of water). The identified modifiable factors of this issue should be incorporated into future schemes of food security intervention in order to efficiently manage the food shortage among the OA.
ISSN:2072-6643
2072-6643
DOI:10.3390/nu10101455