Introduction: Food security, as the physical and economic access of all people at all times to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food, is one of the fundamental challenges of the 21st century. Digital entrepreneurship, as an engine driving innovation in precision agriculture, smart agriculture, and knowledge-based agriculture, can fundamentally transform food security by increasing production efficiency, reducing waste, optimizing the supply chain, making information transparent, and connecting producers directly to consumers. Despite this enormous potential, there is still a deep gap between the capacities of digital entrepreneurship and current food security policies, and few studies have systematically integrated these two areas. This research aims to present a hierarchical model of food security with a digital entrepreneurship approach.

Methodology: The present study was conducted with an applied-developmental and mixed (quantitative and qualitative) approach in an exploratory manner. In the qualitative part, in order to explore the factors of food security with a digital entrepreneurship approach, 27 articles were systematically selected and then the content was analyzed based on the six-step approach of Brown and Clark. In the quantitative part, using structural-interpretive modeling on the opinions of 30 experts (selected by snowball method), causal relationships between components were determined and hierarchical leveling was performed. Finally, MICMAC analysis was used to calculate the influence power and dependence of components.

Findings: Based on the results, 12 food security factors were identified with a digital entrepreneurship approach. The ranking of the components showed that environmental and technological factors were at the sixth level (most influential), structural factors, strategy and digital resources and capabilities at the fifth level (key drivers), good validity and management factors at the fourth level (turning points), food availability, productivity and sustainability at the third level (model outputs), food access at the second level and digital social sustainability at the first level (most influential). The MICMAC analysis also identified environmental and technological factors as the most influential and accessibility and sustainability as the most influential components.

Conclusion/ Implications:This study advances existing knowledge by redefining digital entrepreneurship not just as a tool but as a “catalytic ecosystem” in achieving food security. The extracted pattern provides a roadmap for policymakers to transition from traditional agriculture to data-driven food systems. It is suggested that the strategic focus should shift from island-based interventions to strengthening rural digital infrastructure, developing data ownership frameworks, and promoting platform-based entrepreneurship to enhance food system resilience. For this pattern to be successfully implemented, it is essential to simultaneously invest in rural digital infrastructure, train local entrepreneurs, create venture capital funds, and develop supportive laws in the areas of data ownership and food cybersecurity.