The Ghana Food Security Research with a Focus on the Upper West Region Submitted to Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA). Submitted by Associates for Change, Ghana July 17th, 2012 (Final Report) Associates for Change (AfC) www.associatesforchange.org Tel: 245 612 or 613 or 0244 255 170 1 Table of Content Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ 9 1.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 15 1.1 Objectives of the Food Security Research ..................................................................... 16 1.2 Methodology ................................................................................................................. 17 1.3 Scope of Work .............................................................................................................. 20 2.0 Food Security and Gender Relations within the Global and African Context ................... 21 2.1 Challenges to Food Security in Africa ........................................................................... 22 2.2 Food Security in Ghana .................................................................................................. 24 2.3 Food Security in the Upper West Region....................................................................... 27 2.4 Stakeholder views of the food security situation in the Upper West ............................. 27 2.5 Agencies Working on Food Security Issues in the Upper West .................................... 28 2.6 Capacity Building and Training in the Region............................................................... 29 2.7 Constraints and Challenges to Supporting Female Agricultural Activities ................... 31 2.8 Strategies and Solutions for Food Security ................................................................. 32 Chapter 3: The Situational Analysis of Food Security in the Upper West: ............................... 35 3.0 The Community Profiles ................................................................................................. 35 3.1 Key Community Demographic Indicators ..................................................................... 36 3.3 Group Formation, Activities and Savings across the Communities............................ 37 3.4 Types of Savings/ Credit Schemes in the Community ................................................... 38 3.5 Social, educational and health context of the communities visited ................................ 39 3.6 Changes in food crop production and animals rearing over the last three years ............ 40 3.7 Changes in Nutritional Patterns and Dietary Practices ................................................... 41 3.8 Main Constraints Families Face in Achieving Food Security........................................ 42 3.8.1 Main Constraints Women Face in Food Production and Household Food Security ........ 42 3.8.2 Main Constraints Women Face in Making Decisions ...................................................... 43 2 3.9 Length of the ―Hunger season‖ .................................................................................... 44 3.10 Coping Strategies ......................................................................................................... 45 3.11 Marketing Accessibility and Satisfaction ........................................................................ 46 3.12 Community Seasonal Calendars..................................................................................... 46 3.13 Solutions and Interventions to Improve Food Insecurity Situation in the Upper West ... 49 Chapter 4: Household Food Security and Gender Relations in the Upper West ......................... 51 4.1 Women‘s Group Affiliation ........................................................................................... 53 4.2 Farm labor make up at the family level; and other sources of labor .............................. 53 4.3 Farm Production, Marketing and Decision Making ....................................................... 53 4.4 Male and Female Controlled Crops ............................................................................... 54 4.5 Important Crops and How Households Sustain Family Food Security ......................... 55 4.6 Roles and Responsibilities Related to Farming.............................................................. 57 4.7 What Men and Women Do During the Non-farming Season ..................................... 58 4.8 Changes to Cropping Yields over the Last Three Years ............................................. 60 4.9 Access to Land by Women and Ownership ................................................................... 60 4.10 Size of land cultivated ................................................................................................. 62 4.11 Decision making and control .......................................................................................... 62 4.12 Dietary and Nutritional patterns at household level ...................................................... 64 4.13 Coping Mechanisms ....................................................................................................... 65 4.14 Sources of Food in the Lean Season .............................................................................. 65 4.15 Value Additions to Farm Produce .................................................................................. 66 4.16 Extension and Crop Selection Support .......................................................................... 67 4.17 Financial Support Provided to Farmers in the Upper West ........................................... 68 4.18 Sale and Marketing of Farm Produce ............................................................................. 68 4.19 Constraints and Challenges ............................................................................................ 69 4.20: Women‘s Views of the Constraints to HH Food Security in Sissala West District ...... 72 4.21 Proposed Interventions/ Solutions ............................................................................ 73 3 5.1 Food Security ................................................................................................................. 77 5.2 Experiences in Managing Household Responsibilities and Food Production................ 78 5.3 Gender Relations and Decision making within the Household...................................... 79 5.4 Key Constraints of Successful Women .......................................................................... 81 5.5 Income/Economic Activities and Coping Mechanisms ................................................. 82 5.6 Solutions Cited During Interviews with Successful Women ......................................... 83 6.3 Conclusions Based on the Findings .............................................................................. 87 6.3.1 Erratic Weather Conditions and Soil Infertility ................................................................. 87 6.3.2 Food Security (access, availability and nutrition) .............................................................. 87 6.3.4 Strengthening the Value Chain in Key Agricultural Products ............................................ 90 4 List of Tables Table 1: List of Organisations/Institutions Working in the Upper West and their Mandate ...... 28 Table 2: List of Organisations and Services Provided in the Region ........................................ 30 Table 3: Key Constraints in Farming in the Upper West Region .............................................. 32 Table 4: Key Solutions/Strategies Identified by Stakeholders in the Region ............................ 33 Table 5: Male and Female Population across the Eight Communities. ..................................... 35 Table 6: Number of Male and Female Farming Groups in the Two Districts ………. ……..31 Table 7: Distance to Water Sources from Communities ........................................................... 39 Table 8: Changes in Production over the Last Three Years ...................................................... 40 Table 9 : Main Constraints Families Face in Producing for Buyers .......................................... 44 Table 10: Length of Hunger Season ........................................................................................... 45 Table 11: Roles and Labor Patterns among Men and Women in Relation to Farming .............. 47 Table 12: Background Characteristics of Household Survey Respondents ................................ 51 Table 13: Types of Food and Cash Crops Cultivated across the Eight Communities ................. 54 Table 14: Most Important Crops in Sustaining the Food Needs of the Family ........................... 55 Table 15: Roles and Responsibilities According to Women across the Two Study Districts .... 57 Table 16: Non- Farming Activities of Men and Women ............................................................. 59 Table 17: Use of Cash Income ..................................................................................................... 59 Table 18: Reasons for the Change in Production Yields ............................................................. 60 Table 19: Why Women Do Not Own Land across the Two Districts ......................................... 61 Table 20: Ownership of Land .....................................................................................................