Clearly, geographic proximity to the supply of domestic food is not enough to ensure access to food. Urban regions have greater access to food, in part because they are better connected to national and international markets, and able to source food from multiple locations, whereas in more remote rural regions, there may be few alternatives to local production, due to limited connections to other food sources. Urban regions also tend to be richer, which provides them with the income to purchase food even at times of shortage, when higher prices ration demand. Finally, rural regions tend to rely on the few varieties of food that can be locally produced, and production may be difficult to increase due to limited land or an inability to modernise production methods. In addition, the volume of the local food supply may also be highly variable, leading to a higher frequency of food insecurity episodes in rural regions.