Food security situation in northern Ghana, coping strategies and related constraints

This paper looks at the food security situation in three most deprived and poverty-stricken regions in the Northern parts of Ghana and examines how farmer households cope during food insecure periods. The study concludes that although farmers in these regions cultivate purposely for household consumption and sell the surplus, food was not available throughout the year in the farmer households interviewed. On the average staple foods produced lasted for seven months. Coping mechanisms during months of inadequate household food provision included migration to southern Ghana for wage labor, support from relatives and friends outside the regions, sales from livestock and household valuables as well as reduction of food intake and consumption of less preferred food. Erratic rainfall patterns, high cost of agrochemicals, lack of knowledge on improved farming and post harvest practices as well as lack of production credit and markets for farm produce were some of the constraints militating against increased production and improvement in food security. Measures to remove these constraints will therefore go a long way to improve the household food security situation in Northern Ghana

Exploring Possibilities to Enhance Food Sovereignty within the Cowpea Production-Consumption Network in Northern Ghana

Over the last years an important focus in the combat of hunger and malnutrition,particularly in Africa has been food security. This article explores possibilities for enhancing food sovereignty, as an alternative concept to food security and an alternative strategy for reversing hunger and malnutrition trends in developing countries. A combination of literature review, participatory appraisal and conventional survey methodologies are used to investigate the relevance of local cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) network regarding its importance vis-à-vis other crops, varietal choice, and consumption patterns in Northern Ghana from food sovereignty perspective. Findings reveal how people in poverty-stricken and hunger- hot- spot communities strive to conserve their biodiversity and production-consumption networks for posterity. Local cowpea varietal preferences are investigated for participatory breeding considerations to improve on seed access for sustainable production. Promotion of origin-based foods in the current fast growing globalised markets is recommended as a possibility to enhance food sovereignty for sustainable development in Afric

Exploratory and multidisciplinary survey of the cowpea network in the Tolon-Kumbungu district of Ghana: A food sovereignty perspective

An exploratory survey of selected deprived communities in the Tolon-Kumbungu district of northern region of Ghana was conducted in August 2007 by a multi-disciplinary team of social scientist, food technologist, plant breeder and food nutritionist. The survey sought to identify with farmers their critical agronomic needs and production constraints in order to develop appropriate breeding strategies, as well as cowpea varietal preference for improved processing technology development. A rural participatory and conventional survey approaches were used. Close to half of the interviewed farmers cultivate both improved and local varieties. It was realized that 33 and 22% cultivated only local and improved varieties respectively. Generally, farmers indicated preference for improved varieties due to market value but rather preferred local varieties for household consumption and food sovereignty purposes. The top three most preferred varietal traits mentioned by farmers for breeding considerations included yield, tolerance to diseases and pests and seed colour. Processors preferred white seed coat varieties due to their good whipping ability and short cooking period. Farmers stressed the role of local varieties in food sovereignty with the early maturing ones being the most significant in household food provisio

Sorghum market integration study in Ghana

The study sought to examine the variability and trends in sorghum supply and prices, factors affecting volumes of sorghum traded, and whether the sorghum market was integrated. To achieve the set objectives, primary and secondary data were used. A random sample size of 160respondents, including 20 per cent sorghum grain itinerant traders, 43 per cent wholesalers, 17 per cent retailers, and 20 per cent consumers were interviewed in selected markets in Northern and Brong Ahafo regionsin Ghana. These markets were selected by production and utilization levels, and accessibility as well as potential for sorghum market expansion. Monthly observations over the period 1990-1999 on sorghum prices at the wholesale level for the selected markets were used forthe market integration analysis. The study adopted various analytical approaches, including the basic Ravallion model with some modifications and the Error Correction model, to test for sorghum market integration.The study showed that the actual marketing of sorghum was organized by many individual private traders with no barrier to market entry. Factors affecting volumes of sorghum traded are variable and location-specific. These factors include transportation difficulties, limited supply, inadequate capital, lack of finance, number of sellers and buyers, risk of price changes, and quality deterioration. The study established lack of short-run integration in 75 per cent of the sorghum market pairs studied. The priceadjustment mechanism between local market and reference market was relatively slow, but markets were integrated in the long run. This could be attributed to lack of an adequate market information system at therural markets, and possibly transportation difficulties. It was recommended that the efficiency of the sorghum marketing system needed to be improved by strengthening the market information system

Processors’ perceptions of various cassava processing technologies: A case study of selected districts in Ghana

A purposive sample of 100 cassava processors were interviewed in the Suhum-KraboaCoaltar, Awutu-Efutu Senya, Ho, and Ga districts of Eastern, Central, Volta, and Greater Accra regions of Ghana, respectively, to assess their perceptions of various cassava processing technologies transferred under the Root and Tuber Improvement Programme. These technologies included production of high quality cassava flour (HQCF) and the use of improved stoves, graters, and presses for the production of "gari". To over 70 per cent of the respondents, the improved processing technologies were suitable to the village/community-based setting. However, the use of screw press was assessed to be labour-intensive, and lack of maintenance culture limited the efficiency of graters. Unearthing the opportunities in the cassava processing industry, small and large-scale linkages, and the use of intermediate processing options were thought necessary to meet local and export market demand

Adoption and impact of high quality bambara flour (HQBF) technology in the Northern Region of Ghana

The study focused on the level of adoption of high quality bambara flour (HQBF) processing technology and its impact on end-users. A random sample of 100 women, mainly bambara processors, was selected from Gushiegu/Karaga, Tolon Kumbungu, Savelugu-Nanton, and Tamale districts of the Northern Region of Ghana for interview in June 2004. The Statistical Package for Social Scientist (SPSS), Excel and Econometric Views were used to analyse general data, and the Logit model used to investigate the determinants of adoption. The findings established an effective utilisation level of HQBF at 68 per cent. Variables hypothesized to influence adoption of the improved processing technology from the respondents' own assessments included time of awareness, consumer acceptability/quality of products, credit, availability of raw materials, and sunshine. However, the first two were statistically significant using the Logit model. The technology had had economic impact on 28 per cent of the processors interviewed as a result of 12.5 per cent increase in demand for bambara-based products

Technology development and market access: from a food sovereignty perspective

The concepts of ‘relevant social groups’ and ‘technical code’ are used to investigate the social relations in cowpea variety development (technology studies) and also the relationship of small-scale farmers to the Ghana School Feeding Program (market access) against the background of food sovereignty. For the technology studies, empirical findings reveal the wider socio-cultural context within which cowpea production, processing and consumption are organized and the differences in social meanings constructed for cowpea varieties among relevant social groups (RSGs) in the local cowpea network. Farmers attach social meanings to variety choices in relation to the purpose of cultivation, either primarily for household food provision or for commercial purposes, and select varieties on the basis of these social meanings alongside other, technical considerations, such as yield and tolerance to diseases and pests. There is another, sharper contrast between social meanings ascribed to cowpea variety choice by (small-scale) processors and consumers from that of the farmers. Processor and consumer cowpea variety preferences are tied to bean characteristics, such as white seed colour, short cooking time and taste, which aremore attuned to the social relevance of consumption than technical functionality for cultivation. There are different desires for different traits and thus different varieties of cowpea among the various RSGs, yet empirical findings show that the technical codes in variety designs do not reflect these. In particular, the social meanings constructed for preferred cowpea varieties among the RSGS in the user (processor/consumer, as opposed to producer) category go unrecognised in the variety designs produced in Ghana. Basically, empirical findings confirm a mismatch between what farmers grow and what consumers want. Thereis thus a demand on the Ghanaian cowpea market that local farmers fail to take advantage of, an opportunity that has been taken instead by foreign producers. To understand why the variety preferences of some RSGs have been neglected in Ghanaian cowpea variety development, we unearth the structural and asymmetric power relations among the RSGs in constructing the technical codes of variety designs. Research reveals three major phases in the social organisation of cowpea variety development in Ghana: the upstream breeding, downstream breeding and validation and release. A core element in the upstream breeding is the development of technical codes in variety designs or exotic lines using local germplasm as raw material at the international breeding centres. These codes have both technical specifications and in-built socio-cultural assumptions that become explicit through critical reflection on the variety development process. In the downstream breeding phase, the core element of the variety development process becomes the adaptability of the exotic lines to the local environment, basically involving evaluation of and selection from the variety designs developed upstream. At the validation and release phase, interpretative differences and design flexibility come to a closure as the National Variety Release Committee (NVRC) determines a proposed improved variety to be an improvement over already existing varieties. There is a strong influence of international researchers in the development of exotic lines upstream, largely due to power imbalances between this and other RSGs, such as in technical know-how, research infrastructure and funding resources. This asymmetric relationship means that downstream breeding activities are centrally controlled through the functioning of standardized breeding procedures developed by international breeding institutions at the upstream breeding phase working with the basic intention of a universal applicability of (cowpea) variety design. This research thus points especially to the need for institutional rearrangements that encourage a greater engagement of local researchers in upstream breeding and the inclusion of other RSGs in the user category in the breeding process. And in order to enhance flexibility in attuning exotic lines developed at international organisations to locality specific contexts in downstream breeding, this study recommends the establishment of localized (rather than global) breeding frameworks, with clear (sets of) RSG defined breeding objectives that consider the differences in variety preferences at production and consumption levels, for both market and household consumption. Indeed, small-scale farmers can enhance their access to the domestic market and their food sovereignty if demand driven varieties are produced. The market access study using the Ghana School Feeding Program (GSFP) typifies a food re-localisation strategy which elaborates on the relationship of market access for smallholder farmers to their food sovereignty situations. Similarly to the empirical findings from the technology studies, the code analysis of the market access study shows structural limitations and unequal power relations among GSFP RSGs. Despite the good intentions of decentralizing decisions pertaining to the GSFP, this research reveals a top-down bureaucratic approach to program conceptualization and implementation that has effectively negated some RSGs. The GSFP was implemented with little involvement by small-holder farmers who are supposed to represent one of the beneficiaries of the programme (by supplying the market it creates) The local (district and school) level bodies supposed to be responsible for mobilizing community support and linking smallholders to the GSFP market were not empowered to perform. They were given little support or direction as to their roles and responsibilities and there were funding shortages for food purchases. This situation gave traders and other food suppliers the power to use their money to take advantage of the market opportunities created. The asymmetry of power influence among the RSGs in the GSFP network is reflected in the choice of food procurement model. A code analysis of the market access study shows three procurement models to be operative in the GSFP: i) theSupplier Model, which employs the use of contractors or suppliers to supply food items to the schools, ii) the School-Based Model,which involves thecommunity mobilization of resources and purchase of raw foodstuffs from local farmers, and iii) theCaterer Model, which involves the handling of food purchases and food preparations by contracted qualified caterers. In practice, the caterer model is found to be mostly used largely due to convenience and power imbalances, even though it is the school-based model that best fits the programme objectives. This is shown to be a significant cause of the failure of smallholders to access the GSGP market and their ‘replacement’ by traders and other food suppliers. Nevertheless, assessment of the socio-economic impact on the group of farmers (less than 30% of 100 farmers interviewed in GSFP participating communities) who have been able to access the GSFP market shows a very positive relationship between market access and household food sovereignty. In the space of a year, production of the crop sold (rice) went up 30%, food stocks rose by a half (from six to nine months) and farmers’ incomes increased by 80%. Notably, these farmers were organised, by a development agency, which also provided various inputs (including credit and technical assistance) and, acting as the link to the GSFP, guaranteed the market. Several factors are found to have limited and continue to restrict effective implementation of the GSFP, but from the code analysis it is clear that the GSFP can be socially reconstructed to seek specific goals. Despite the constraints limiting smallholder farmer access to the GSFP market, critical investigations into the procurement models open-up possibilities for reconstructing the GSFP market and making it an endogenous structure that can facilitate smallholder access. Identification also of the factors enabling access on the part of some farmers also suggests ways in which interventions in social relations can enable localised producer-consumer linkages through the GSFP that promote food sovereignty. Since resource constraints favour the use of supplier and caterer procurement models, it is recommended that contract agreements specify food purchases from local farmers. Concrete proposals for endogenizing the GSFP to facilitate the linkage between local food production and school feeding (local consumption) include i) strengthening collaboration efforts with strategic partners working with farmer groups, ii) developing social relations between farmers and caterers or school kitchen centres, and iii) affirming the roles and responsibilities of actors who have the capacity to develop farmer-GSFP linkages through performance contract agreements and regular monitoring. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture and FONG, an apex organisation of farmers’ groups, were identified as actors that could be developed for important, nationwide roles at the local level. This research shows a link betweenendogenous development andhousehold food sovereignty. Empirical findings from the GSFP analysis provide a test case of what actually happens to the food sovereignty situation of small-scale farmers who have good access to a domestic market. Using a range of measures at the household level as proxy for food sovereignty, this study shows a positive linkage between domestic market access for smallholder farmers and food sovereignty. However, it is realised that farmers in marginalized areas, especially those in hunger hotspots, cannot just produce for the GSFP market unless it is organised in a way that reflects endogenous capacities and improves small-scale farmers’ access to production resources. The technological studies and market access parts of this research both reveal the importance ofparticipation by RSGs – the former especially through genuinely participatory plant breeding programmes and the latter through the need for communities and farmers’ groups to be proactively introduced into and involved in the organisation of food procurement. Underscoring this, the linkage of fundamental failures, again in both programmes – both in breeding (at the upstream phrase) and school feeding (conceptualisation and implementation) – to asymmetric social power relations attest to the need to confront and restructure these in practical, creative ways.</p

Preliminary survey on Anopheles species distribution in Botswana shows the presence of Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles funestus complexes

Background: Botswana is one of the four front line malaria elimination countries in Southern Africa, with malaria control activities that include routine vector control. Past and recent studies have shown that Anopheles arabiensis is the only known vector of Plasmodium parasites in the country. This report presents a preliminary evaluation on Anopheles species composition in seven districts of Botswana with some inferences on their vectorial role. Results: Overall, 404 Anopheles mosquito females were collected, of which 196 were larvae collected from several breeding sites, and 208 were adults obtained from indoor pyrethrum spray catches (PSC). Anopheles arabiensis (58.9%) accounted for the highest relative frequency in 5 out of 7 districts sampled. The other species collected, among those identified, were barely represented: Anopheles longipalpis type C (16.3%), Anopheles parensis (8.9%), Anopheles quadriannulatus (5.4%), and Anopheles leesoni (0.2%). PCR test for human β-globin on mosquitoes collected by PSC showed that An. arabiensis and An. parensis had bitten human hosts. Moreover, An. arabiensis showed a non-negligible Plasmodium falciparum infection rate in two sites (3.0% and 2.5% in Chobe and Kweneng West districts, respectively). Conclusions: This work provides first time evidence of Anopheles diversity in several areas of Botswana. Anopheles arabiensis is confirmed to be widespread in all the sampled districts and to be vector of P. falciparum. Moreover, the presence of Anopheles funestus group in Botswana has been assessed. Further research, entomological surveillance activities and possibly vector control programmes need to be better developed and implemented as well as targeting outdoors resting vectors

The genetic aetiology of cannabis use initiation: a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies and a SNP-based heritability estimation

While initiation of cannabis use is around 40% heritable, not much is known about the underlying genetic aetiology. Here, we meta-analysed two genome-wide association studies of initiation of cannabis use with >10000 individuals. None of the genetic variants reached genome-wide significance. We also performed a gene-based association test, which also revealed no significant effects of individual genes. Finally, we estimated that only approximately 6% of the variation in cannabis initiation is due to common genetic variants. Future genetic studies using larger sample sizes and different methodologies (including sequencing) might provide more insight in the complex genetic aetiology of cannabis use