Investigating the Role of Rural-Urban Linkages in Empowering Farmers for Sustainable Food Security (Case Study: Rural Settlements in the Southeast of Tehran Province)

There are different types of flows between urban and rural areas that have a lot of potentials. There have been many rural-urban linkages for many years, but their potential remains diminished and ignored. This article reveals the relationship between improving rural-urban linkages to empower local farmers in sustainable food security in southeastern Tehran's rural areas. To explain this issue, four hundred questionnaires were completed by agricultural operators using a simple random sampling method. The findings of this descriptive-analytical study indicate the positive impact of rural-urban linkages on farmers' participation in investment, access to resources, product marketing, and diversification of activities. The results revealed improved spatial flow indices for empowerment and food security. In other words, the improvement of spatial flow indices facilitates the participation of agricultural operators in production in various fields and various agricultural and non-agricultural activities, resulting in the improvement of the average dimension of sustainable food security. In this regard, it is suggested to adopt appropriate policies and revise the policy-making system to pay more attention to rural-urban linkages potential to improve sustainable food security.