IMPROVING DIETS IN RURAL GHANA Food system analysis to identify opportunities for nutrition-sensitive small and medium enterprises IMPROVING DIETS IN RURAL GHANA Food system analysis to identify opportunities for nutrition-sensitive small and medium enterprises PUBLISHED BY THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE ROME, 2021 i Required citation: FAO and IFPRI. 2021. Improving diets in rural Ghana - Food system analysis to identify opportunities for nutrition- sensitive small and medium enterprises. Rome, FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cb5139en. 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The original English edition shall be the authoritative edition.” Disputes arising under the licence that cannot be settled amicably will be resolved by mediation and arbitration as described in Article 8 of the licence except as otherwise provided herein. The applicable mediation rules will be the mediation rules of the World Intellectual Property Organization http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/mediation/ rules and any arbitration will be in accordance with the Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Third-party materials. Users wishing to reuse material from this work that is attributed to a third party, such as tables, figures or images, are responsible for determining whether permission is needed for that reuse and for obtaining permission from the copyright holder. The risk of claims resulting from infringement of any third-party- owned component in the work rests solely with the user. Sales, rights and licensing. FAO information products are available on the FAO website (www.fao.org/publications) and can be purchased through [email protected]. Requests for commercial use should be submitted via: www.fao.org/contact-us/licence-request. Queries regarding rights and licensing should be submitted to: [email protected] Cover photographer: ©FAO/Luis Tato CONTENTS Preface v Acknowledgements vi Abbreviations and acronyms vii 1. Introduction 1 2. Country context 3 3. Analytical approach 7 4. Food and nutrient availability 11 4.1. Trends in food availability 11 4.2. Household food consumption patterns and nutrient gaps 13 4.3. Examining food preferences and diet choices 16 5. Sourcing nutritious foods 19 5.1. Food outlets used 19 5.2. Seasonality and other availability barriers 19 6. Food market environment 23 6.1. Constraints for market sellers 23 6.2. Women in the food market environment 24 7. Supply and demand patterns across markets and foods 29 8. Nutritious food value chains: bringing together supply and demand characteristics 35 9. Conclusions and recommendations 43 9.1. Conclusions 43 9.2. Recommendations 44 References 47 TABLES Table 1. Nutrients consumed by households in northern and southern Ghana by food group, as a share of total nutrient consumption .................................................................................................................................................... 15 Table 2. Main business expenses as reported by traders (number of mentions) ............................................................... 23 Table 3. Main business challenges as reported by traders (number of mentions) .......................................................... 24 Table 4. Local food seller types, by region and gender ................................................................................................................................... 25 Table 5. Rural and urban markets in Ghana ..................................................................................................................................................................... 29 Table 6. Demand and supply conditions of various food groups, per type of market ................................................ 31 Table 7. Traders’ perception of the main reasons for changes in supply (number of mentions) .................... 33 Table 8. Preferred nutritious foods, by region (number of mentions during IDIs) ������������������������������������������������������������� 35 Table 9. Supply-side, demand-side and value chain challenges of preferred nutritious foods ....................... 37 FIGURES Figure 1. Sampled communities and markets ......................................................................................................................................................................8 Figure 2. Food and nutrient availability trends (1980−2013) ...............................................................................................................................11 Figure 3. Availability of protein, 1990 to 2013 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 12 Figure 4. Estimated amount of nutrients available to households in northern and southern Ghana, as a percentage of required amounts ............................................................................................................................................................ 14 iv PREFACE It is widely acknowledged that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a pivotal, direct role in poverty and hunger reduction, industry growth and job creation. Nevertheless, the development of an enabling policy environment for small food enterprises is often overlooked, falling between the crevices of policies on agriculture and agro-industries, food safety, nutrition and trade. Improving nutrition by making nutritious food available, affordable and desirable to all requires actions from all stakeholders involved in food systems, including producers, processors, retailers, consumers and private and public institutions. SMEs have a great potential to play a particular role in enhancing nutrition in food systems. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is committed to supporting SMEs through the creation of an enabling environment that encourages the prioritization of nutrition as a business opportunity and incites policymakers to collaborate with multiple stakeholders, including the private sector, development agencies, civil society, non-governmental organizations and academia. This report is based on analysis undertaken as part of the FAO project “Strengthening capacities for nutrition-sensitive food systems through a multi-stakeholder approach”. The project is funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF) and coordinated by FAO’s Food and Nutrition Division (ESN), in collaboration with the Ghana office of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). It presents a detailed analysis of Ghana’s food system, with a focus on rural resource- constrained communities. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AUTHORS Noora-Lisa Aberman, Aulo Gelli, John Agandin, Doreen Kufoalor, Jason Donovan ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This report was developed for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Food and Nutrition Division, by the Ghana Strategy Support Program of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Additional research support was provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the SNV Netherlands Development Organisation and the Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM) of the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers (CGIAR). The publication benefitted from technical comments and suggestions provided by Pilar Santacoloma and Manuel Anta (FAO, and a peer reviewed by Ana IslasRamos (FAO). Thanks are also extended to Kato Tomoko and Jury Kasuga, who initiated the development of this publication and provided inputs; to Annalisa