Permanently food secure families have the highest proportion with strong walls and roof among the three groups. Families with more assets such as TV, radio, telephone, car, and motorcycle are more likely to be food secure. Access to social welfare such as insurance/retirement and access to credit lessen the tendency of being food insecure. Table 10. Characteristics of chronic and transient food insecure families, FIES 2009 Characteristic Rainfall All Share of crop farming income to total income Female headed Never food insecure Temperature Transitory food insecure Chronically food insecure Never food insecure Transitory food insecure Chronically food insecure 35.85% 35.46% 41.37% 38.35% 35.46% 33.36% 38.43% 11.82% 4.66% 6.66% 6.61% 12.50% 7.41% 7.57% Age of head 51.6 52.3 50.7 46.9 52.4 47.4 46.9 Family size 4.9 61.37% 12.5 6.5 7.5 With strong house 66.29% 25.81% 29.92% 4.7 66.32% 6.6 50.00% 6.6 30.03% With radio 51.35% 54.04% 45.16% 33.91% 54.08% 46.30% 34.08% With telephone 53.00% 58.13% 22.58% 20.08% 58.23% 35.19% 20.12% With tv set 54.60% 60.44% 25.81% 16.98% 60.56% 33.33% 17.13% 4.23% 4.89% - - 4.90% 1.85% With motorcycle 15.97% 18.13% 3.23% 2.09% 18.18% 5.56% 2.17% Urbanity(rural) 84.99% 83.97% 87.10% 91.60% 83.95% 87.04% 91.55% 6.04% 5.17% 12.90% 11.62% 5.17% 5.56% 11.67% Elementary level 33.16% 30.60% 51.61% 49.52% 30.61% 29.63% 49.62% Elementary graduate 24.35% 24.67% 6.45% 22.59% 24.61% 33.33% 22.40% High school level 11.64% 12.13% 16.13% 8.40% 12.15% 11.11% 8.45% High school graduate 14.82% 16.11% 12.90% 6.38% 16.11% 18.52% 6.39% 6.13% 6.88% - 1.37% 6.90% 1.85% 1.35% With car No grade College level College and post graduate With remittance 3.87% 4.45% - 0.12% 4.44% - 0.12% 19.04% 21.38% - 4.05% 21.45% 7.41% 3.99% With safe water 69.32% 72.43% 35.48% 49.58% 72.43% 72.22% 49.27% With cash loan 25.36% 27.05% payments 27.03% 19.35% 14.54% With expenditure on insurance and 14.77% 16.80% 1.79% 16.87% retirement Source of basic data: Philippine Statistics Authority – Food and Income Expenditure Survey 25.93% 14.49% - 1.76% Policy Options CBMS-FAO | 37