A recent report has found that even though majority of Ghanaian households were within the acceptable food consumption group thus, food secure, about 7.4% of households in the country still do not meet this criterion and were classified as been food insecure.
The Food Security and Nutrition Monitoring System (FSNMS) report found that some 69.7 percent of Ghanaian households were within the acceptable food consumption group, that’s food secure. Per the report, some 23 percent of Ghanaian households were moderately food insecure as of the fourth quarter of 2021.
“During the period under review (4th quarter of 2021), household food consumption patterns remained largely acceptable. Out of the 3,011 households surveyed, 2,099 (representing 69.71%) were food secure, i.e., within the acceptable food consumption group, while 691 (22.95%) and 211 (7.34%) were moderately food insecure (borderline) and severely food insecure (poor), respectively”.
MoFA & Partners
The FSNMS survey conducted by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Ghana Health Service (GHS), World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF found that severely food insecure households (poor) were mostly from the Northern, Ashanti, Savannah and Greater Accra Regions.
“The survey further revealed that severely food insecure households were mostly from the Northern, Ashanti, Savannah and Greater Accra regions. Moderately food insecure households mostly came from the Northern, Ashanti and Savannah regions. An overwhelming majority (93.80%) of the households that were severely food insecure were male-headed households, while (6.20%) were female-headed households”.
MoFA & Partners
Food insecurity of Ghanaian households was measured using the Food Consumption Score (FCS) which is a measure of dietary diversity, food frequency and the relative nutritional importance of the food consumed. A high FCS increases the probability that a household’s food intake is adequate.
The FCS is a good proxy for the current food security status and is highly correlated with other food security proxy indicators, including coping strategies and income.
Significant rise in food prices
The report stated that in the review period, most of the markets monitored recorded a significant increase in prices of commodities compared to the same period last year – 2020.
For instance, the price of maize in most markets observed an upward trend. Imported perfumed rice experienced a mix of normal, above normal and below normal price fluctuations.
The first edition of the FSNMS conducted in June 2020, saw a large majority (76%) of the 1,600 households interviewed indicate that prices of food commodities increased in June, compared to the same period in 2019. For example, prices of cassava and plantain recorded significant increases of 206% and 413%, respectively, across markets in Kumasi. However, the price of maize decreased marginally across all the major markets contrary to what was observed in last year’s survey.
The Food Security and Nutrition Monitoring System
The Food Security and Nutrition Monitoring System (FSNMS) is a system that tracks and reports household vulnerability to food insecurity and nutrition. FSNMS flags a deteriorating or improving food security and nutrition situation. It does not necessarily explain why changes in food security are occurring – it simply indicates that something is happening.
The objectives of the FSNMS are to: monitor and analyze trends of food availability, access and utilization; identify and monitor risks and opportunities for household food security; and collect and analyze key nutrition indicators for trend analysis. The FSNMS also seeks to provide timely and relevant information for decision-making.
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