Beyond gender: structural and social–capital determinants of food security in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Food security is multidimensional, yet studies often rely on single indicators that obscure variation across measurement, gender, social capital, and geography. Using survey data from 300 households in Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, we examined food security through three measures, the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), Food Consumption Score (FCS), and Minimum Dietary Energy Requirement (MDER), estimating probit models of socioeconomic, livelihood, climate, social-capital, and geographic determinants. Food insecurity was persistent: 81.3% of households were food insecure by HFIAS, 33.0% by FCS, and 50.3% fell below minimum dietary energy requirements under MDER. Gender differences were indicator-dependent: female-headed households showed higher dietary diversity (FCS: 30.7% vs. 17.8%, p = 0.022) and caloric adequacy (MDER: 70.7% vs. 42.7%), but gender was not significant once structural factors were controlled. Geography showed the largest association with outcomes, with D.I. Khan showing higher predicted probabilities than Bannu. Reciprocal social support was linked to better material outcomes, while trust was linked to lower perceived food-access security, consistent with redistributive obligations in tightly connected communities; other dimensions showed indicator-specific relationships. Findings show that rural food insecurity reflects interacting measurement, gender, social-capital, and geographic dynamics, calling for place-sensitive, multidimensional approaches to assessment and intervention.