Roaming through the Maze of Maize in Northern Ghana. A Systems Approach to Explore the Long-Term Effects of a Food Security Intervention

Ellen Mangnus,A.C.M Van Westen

doi:10.3390/su10103605

Abstract

Central to food security interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa stands the value chain approach. The underlying idea is that connecting farmers to input and output markets and sources of knowledge and technology will enhance their food security status. In spite of positive impacts measured in especially food supply, there is scant evidence of the long-term effects on food security. For a better grasp of the impacts of a maize value chain intervention in North Ghana, we have experimented with an approach that focuses on interactions and feedback loops between the value chain and its local context. Such approach allowed us to identify dynamics that affect food security in the long run. In the case of Northern Ghana farming systems, household income and diets are increasingly dependent on maize, which increases risk of food insecurity in case of climate setbacks or market shocks. The exercise reveals how a linear value chain approach obscures the dynamic effects cascading from the intervention that may actually hamper food security in the long run. A systems approach may help to better grasp the consequences of external interventions at the local level.

Highlights

In Need of a Novel Approach to Food SecurityThe period 2000–2015 stands out for an unparalleled awareness of the global food security challenges
The value chain approach stems from the global commodity chain approach that was used by development scholars as an analytical tool to study inequalities in global trade [3,4,5,6,7,8]
By taking a systems approach to study the interaction between a maize value chain in Northern Ghana and its local spatial context this study aims to gain a better understanding of the long-term food security effects

Summary

Introduction

In Need of a Novel Approach to Food SecurityThe period 2000–2015 stands out for an unparalleled awareness of the global food security challenges. “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture” goes the second of the seventeen SDGs It is in this spirit that an increasingly diverse constellation of actors, such as agribusinesses, philanthropists, social entrepreneurs, and other companies aside public agencies and NGO’s are intervening in agriculture in the Global South under the stated goal of contributing to food security [1]. Central in these interventions stands the value chain approach. The value chain approach stems from the global commodity chain approach that was used by development scholars as an analytical tool to study inequalities in global trade [3,4,5,6,7,8]

Methods

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Discussion

Conclusion