Social Capital, Household Income, and Food Insecurity in Small Islands: Insight from Maluku, Indonesia

Maluku province is an archipelagic region with abundant potential for marine and fishery resources, agriculture, and tourism. However, food insecurity, the poverty rate, stunting, and the prevalence of undernourishment are still higher than those at the national level. This study investigated the association between social capital and culture, economic (consumption and income), ecological (land property rights and plantation biodiversity), and food insecurity in Haruku village. Haruku village on Haruku island is an indigenous community cultivates plantations in the Dusung systems ecology. We collected data from 80 households on Haruku Island. Then, we analyzed the household expenditure for food and non-food, and used Smart PLS 4 to find the association between variables. Results showed 68.84% household expenditure was allocated for food and 31.16% for non-food. Social culture, household consumption patterns, and income from local food production significantly influence and reduce food insecurity. Albeit local food, imported rice, and flour consumption will reduce food insecurity. This implies that improving household income, strengthening social culture, fostering biodiversity, and diversifying local food consumption are crucial to improving sustainable food insecurity in the small islands.