Exclusive programmes for ensuring food security involve participation of several stakeholders, which is necessarily a function of their comprehensive awareness on the concept of food security and the concerns of the community regarding accomplishment of food security. Food security in turn has several dimensions as understood from the vast literature available in this regard. Four important dimensions viz. production dimension; distribution dimension; nutrition dimension and socio economic dimensions have been delineated. This study tries to assess and compare the concerns of different stakeholders on the of the community regarding accomplishment of food security. The study was conducted in twenty panchayats selected randomly from Thrissur district of Kerala and data were collected from rice farmers, extension agents (Agricultural Officers and Agricultural Assistants), members of community based organizations (CBOs) and people’s representatives. Analysis of the differences among these actors with regard to their awareness on the four dimensions of food security shows that while rice farmers had the highest degree of awareness on production and nutrition dimensions, CBO members had the highest levels of awareness on distribution and socio economic dimensions. Extension agents showed the lowest levels of awareness on all the four dimensions. Exclusive strategies for enhancing the involvement of extension agents in food security programmes are recommended

Keyword: Food security; Dimensions