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

Mangnus, Ellen; Westen, A.C.M. van

doi:10.3390/su10103605

Cited by 30 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…The 2008 global food crisis had earlier mainstreamed the importance of food security in the global policy agenda [39]. Since then, numerous efforts have been made to establish measures for understanding this multifaceted concept.…”

Section: Emerging Food Security Challenges and Assessment Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 Lockdown, Food Systems and Urban–Rural Partnership: Case of Nagpur, India

Sukhwani

Deshkar

Shaw

2020

IJERPH

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The globally fast-spreading novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is now testing the abilities of all countries to manage its widespread implications on public health. To effectively contain its impacts, a nation-wide temporary lockdown was enforced in India. The resultant panic buying and stockpiling incidents together with spread of misinformation created a sense of food insecurity at local level. This paper discusses a specific case of Nagpur from the worst affected Maharashtra state of India, wherein the urban–rural food supply chains were reportedly disrupted. Based on formal interviews with local government officials, a month-long timeline of COVID-19 outbreak in Nagpur was studied along with the consequent government initiatives for maintaining public health and food supply. While the city residents were confined to their homes, this study then assessed their perceived food security at household level, along with their “Immediate Concerns” and “Key Information Sources”. Through online surveys at two different time intervals, the concerns of “Food and Grocery” were found to be rising, and “Government Apps and Websites” were identified as the most reliable source of information. Based on the research findings, the authors further suggest specific policy recommendations for addressing the immediate and long-term concerns related to food systems in Nagpur.

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Section: Emerging Food Security Challenges and Assessment Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 Lockdown, Food Systems and Urban–Rural Partnership: Case of Nagpur, India

Sukhwani

Deshkar

Shaw

2020

IJERPH

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“…Indeed, given that smallholders are confronted with many income needs, they are sometimes likely to give priority to the present ones over future food needs [11,71]. Elsewhere, studies have indicated that a focus on production for markets risks a decline in overall food production, adversely affecting, for example, the availability of diverse food in a community [72][73][74].…”

Section: Inclusive Business and Food Security Nexusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limitations of Inclusive Agribusiness in Contributing to Food and Nutrition Security in a Smallholder Community. A Case of Mango Initiative in Makueni County, Kenya

2020

Self Cite

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Food and nutrition security remain at the top of development priorities in low income countries. This is especially the case for smallholder farmers who derive their livelihood from agriculture yet are often the most deprived. Inclusive agribusinesses have been championed as a key strategy to address local constraints that limit smallholders’ participation in regional and global value chains, thereby enhancing their livelihood, and food and nutrition security, accordingly. In this paper, based on a mixed method research approach, we explore the potential food and security contribution of inclusive agribusiness in Makueni county, Kenya. We focus on the smallholders’ constraints and needs, exploring the extent to which these are addressed by such purported pro-poor approach. First, using independent sample t-tests and a probit regression model, we explore who are able to participate in an ongoing intervention. We compare how participants and non-participants differ in terms of key socio-economic characteristics and establish which of these attributes are associated with successful integration into the business. Second, we again use independent sample t-tests to determine how the participants and non-participants compare in terms of their food and nutrition security. The household food and nutrition security is assessed with the conventional measurement tools: the household food insecurity access scale and the household food dietary diversity score. We find that participation in the inclusive agribusiness favors smallholder households with relatively higher production capacity in terms of better physical capital (land and number of mango trees, financial capital), access to loans, and human capital (age, education, and family size). Following income improvement, the participants’ household food security situation is significantly better than for non-participants. However, participation does not improve household dietary diversity, implying that improvement in income does not necessarily lead to better household nutrition security. To address the limitations of inclusive agribusiness, we propose policymakers and development actors to critically explore the contextual background prior to intervention design and implementation, and accordingly devise a broader approach for more inclusivity of the very poor and marginalized, and better food and nutrition security outcomes as a result. Given that not every smallholder could benefit from inclusive agribusiness for their food needs due to resource scarcity, alternative livelihood supports, including social protection programs and safety net plans, should be considered.

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“…In 2005 the Agricultural Production Support Programme started distributing packages of inputs, fertiliser and cash to farmers. In the late 2000s Yara and Wienco fertiliser and input companies created the Masara N'arziki programme, which organised farmer groups around the supply of loans in inputs, seeds and ploughing services in contracts in which farmers supplied agro-processing corporations with specific crops (Mangnus and van Westen 2018). The main focus of the Masara N'arziki programme has been to encourage the uptake of hybrid maize varieties and synthetic inputs by smallholder farmers.…”

Section: Changing Relations Of Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Old tractors, new policies and induced technological transformation: agricultural mechanisation, class formation, and market liberalisation in Ghana

Amanor

Iddrisu

2021

The Journal of Peasant Studies

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This article examines the recent uptake of tractor ploughing services in northern Ghana. It examines the historical continuities in mechanisation and the emergence of a class of medium-scale commercial farmers. In the light of this, it questions the thesis that the recent uptake of mechanisation and emergence of mediumscale farmers reflects the successes of market liberalisation. It is critical of neoclassical theories of agricultural transformation rooted in theories of induced innovation and argues for a political economy approach that links agricultural transformation to processes of social differentiation and the historical role of the state in promoting agricultural commercialisation.

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

Cited by 30 publications

References 77 publications

COVID-19 Lockdown, Food Systems and Urban–Rural Partnership: Case of Nagpur, India

COVID-19 Lockdown, Food Systems and Urban–Rural Partnership: Case of Nagpur, India

Limitations of Inclusive Agribusiness in Contributing to Food and Nutrition Security in a Smallholder Community. A Case of Mango Initiative in Makueni County, Kenya

Old tractors, new policies and induced technological transformation: agricultural mechanisation, class formation, and market liberalisation in Ghana

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