DETERMINATION OF FOOD WASTE RELATED BEHAVIOR OF THE RURAL FARM HOUSEHOLDS

Abstract

This present study conducted a comprehensive investigation to assess the food waste related behavior of the rural farm households. Food waste behavior was considered the dependent variable while education, family size, monthly family income, food preservation, resident status, waste management knowledge and attitude towards food waste were considered the independent variables. Data were collected from 160 families using a structured interview schedule. Out of all 160, the majority of respondents were young aged (47.5%), had primary and secondary education (38.13%), belonged to medium sized families (67.5%) and had an average income of BDT 23,000. From multiple regression coefficients, it was found that family size was the strongest contributor (β= -.377, P= .000) followed by waste management knowledge (β= -270, P= .000), attitude towards food waste (β= -.266, P=.0000) and monthly family income (β= .215, P=.000).This study also shows that, an average of 63 grams of households food get wasted per person on weekly basis. To conclude, this study offers several practical and theoretical recommendations which will be helpful for the policymakers to formulate different strategic policies pertinent to households‟ food waste management.