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Background of the Study
INTRODUCTION
The responsiveness of world leaders to food security has undoubtedly earned it a top priority as evidenced in yearly global updates and policies geared towards the reduction and/or elimination of food insecurity (Clapp & Murphy, 2013; FAO, IFAD and UNICEF, 2017; Food and Agriculture Organization, 2011a; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2010). It is estimated that about 10 percent of the world, thus one in every nine people, are food insecure (FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO, 2018). Increased occurrence of food insecurity globally have been attributed to the rapid rates of growth in urbanisation, food prices, births, and demand for agricultural lands (Muraoka, Jin, & Jayne, 2014). This has led to challenges such as starvation, conflicts, under and malnutrition among others (Sasson, 2012) in every region in the world. However, the African continent faces the most pressing situation with almost 30 percent of its populace experiencing food insecurity (FAO et al., 2018).
Most of the issues of malnourishment recorded in Africa are found within the sub-Saharan Africa region. In 2017, about 34 percent of sub-Saharan Africans were food insecure with the middle and eastern parts of the region facing the worst experiences. Western Africa, which was comparatively better off, according to FAO et al. (2018), has witnessed a significant upstick with a rise from 21.9 percent in 2015 to 29.5 percent of the food insecure in 2017. The higher numbers in Western Africa have been attributed to the prevalence of droughts, increasing food prices, and rapid population growth (FAO et al., 2018). In Ghana, where the study is situated, the FAO et al. (2018) record a
9.3 percent and 6.1 percent prevalences of undernourishment and food insecurity respectively.
From 2015 to 2017, about 2.2 million of Ghanaians faced severe food insecurity (FAO et al., 2018). The increase in the numbers have led to governments in both developed and developing countries prioritizing food security in their policies.
Food security “exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (World Food Summit (1996) as cited by FAO, 2006, p. 1; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2010, p. 8). From this definition, four dimensions can be noted. There is food availability, which looks at making sufficient food quantities available, whilst considering its quality and supply (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2010). The second dimension is food access which gives individuals and households resources needed to acquire foods that are nutritious (FAO IFAD UNICEF, 2017; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2010). The third dimension is the use of food to meet the needs of individuals physiologically. The last dimension, food stability, is a relatively new dimension and focuses on ensuring that people have access to food all the time, and thus combines food access and food availability (FAO, 2006). As such the last dimension may differ between regions and place of residence even in a given country.
The four dimensions of food security comprise of numerous indicators and measures, all of which are geared towards assessing that people are food secure through improved dietary intake and adequate nutrients (FAO, 2011). Based on the objectives of a study and the limitations of the data used, researchers have employed different ways to measure food security. In some studies, a
combination of the measures is used for a proper assessment of the food security status of an area. These measures for households include hunger scale, food insecurity and access scale, dietary diversity score among others (Kennedy et al., 2010; Labadarios et al., 2011; Leroy, Ruel, Frongillo, Harris, & Ballard, 2015; Waswa, Jordan, Herrmann, Krawinkel, & Keding, 2014). In other cases, there has been the use of a single measure as a proxy measure of food security (Ochieng, Afari- Sefa, Lukumay, & Dubois, 2017; Taruvinga, Muchenje, & Mushunje, 2013).
Out of these measures, Household Dietary Diversity (HDD), has proven to be one of the more accurate measures of food security for individuals and households (Swindale & Bilinsky, 2006; Vakili, Abedi, Sharifi, & Hosseini, 2013). Dietary diversity relates to the adequacy reflected in nutrient intake and balanced diets due to the consumption of some unique food groups (FAO, 2011). As such, HDD reflects food availability, accessibility and consumption as well as utilization (FAO, 2014a) and is also useful under circumstances where data for the measurement of food security is limited for households.
In Ghana, there have been several policies geared at increasing food security. Agriculture is the mainstay of the Ghanaian economy (Ghana Statistical Service, 2013), and it has been the prospect through which governments over the years seek to improve access to food. One of the most recent programmes, Medium-Term Agriculture Sector Investment Plan (METASIP) from 2011 to 2015 (Babu & Blom, 2017), seeks to use agricultural production to boost structural transformation economic growth and food security in Ghana. Also, the 2018 Budget Statement of the Government of Ghana, seeks to increase food security to food through an improvement in agricultural
production which would create more jobs and ultimately make the country food secure (Ministry of Finance, 2017). Improving dietary diversity could therefore achieve this goal.
The rural poor have also been the target of policies over the years in Ghana. This is because rural areas employ a higher proportion of agricultural workers in the country, who are also the most malnourished and food insecure (Ghana Statistical Service, 2013). To achieve this, inputs aimed at improving food production, access, utilization and reduction of food wastage (FAO IFAD UNICEF, 2017). The inputs would also have to consider socio-economic and political factors which could improve or worsen vulnerabilities of individuals and households. For agricultural- based economies, one the most important inputs would be the ability to gain access to agricultural lands.
Land has been important in the production of food and wealth for all countries (Godfray et al., 2010). In 2015, the World Bank estimated that over 37 per cent of the world’s land was used for agriculture; over 42 per cent of which is in sub-Sahara Africa (The World Bank, 2015). In 2015, however, over 153 million individuals in sub-Saharan Africa suffered from severe food insecurity. In rain-fed agricultural regions, such as sub-Saharan Africa, land issues are of utmost concern as it is the most important element that makes food accessible for its populace (Kiptot, Franzel, & Degrande, 2014). It is therefore imperative to make land available and accessible to all, as it has constructive effects on food security and ultimately, empowerment of women, agricultural output, nutrition, and other sustainable outcomes of development (Bremner, 2012; Miggiano, Taylor, & Mauro, 2010; Muraoka et al., 2014).
The World Bank (2015) and Ghana Statistical Service (2013) have estimated that about 69 per cent of the total land mass in Ghana is suitable for agriculture; and this could be the reason for which 45 per cent of the population (70 per cent of which are in rural areas) are involved in agriculture. Although there are other income earning opportunities, it is undeniable that land and its tenure predominantly play an active role especially in the rural Ghanaian economy (Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), 2014).
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