Does livelihood diversification improve food security among rural households?: evidence from Ghana

Abstract

ABSTRACT Livelihood diversification (LD) is crucial for rural households due to increasing climate variability and declining farm incomes in the global south. Literature has extensively documented the benefits of LD in emerging economies. However, there is still a gap in the econometric evidence of LD on the food security of rural households in Ghana. This study addresses this gap by examining the factors that influence LD using the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS 7) data collected from 133 rural households in Northern Ghana. Results from the censored Tobit regression model, multiple linear regression, and Simpson Diversification Index (SDI) indicated that diversification averaged 0.313 and ranged from 0.000 to 0.709 (zero to 70.9%). Total food expenditures (TFE) measured as a proxy of food security declined at low levels of diversification. Beyond the diversification level of 0.480, total food expenditure increased steadily. The findings revealed that only 24.6% of the households had diversification scores higher than the turning point of 0.480. The Tobit model also showed that remittance income, technical education, household size, marital status, access to extension services, and ownership of mobile phones were significant drivers of LD. The findings have demonstrated that LD improves food security in rural Ghana.