Building Local Consensus for Food Security: Collaboration between Accra Metropolitan Assembly and Chiefs in Accra, Ghana

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume II, Issue V, May 2018 | ISSN 2454-6186

Building Local Consensus for Food Security: Collaboration between Accra Metropolitan Assembly and Chiefs in Accra, Ghana

Richard Abankwa Agyepong

Centre for African Studies, University of Education Winneba, Ghana

Abstract: Ghana remains food insecure despite the growth of agriculture’s contribution to national development. This is explained by lack of community food security policies. Local governments in Ghana are responsible for the overall development of the country hence expected to lead food security policies. Recognizing the multi-faceted nature of food security in Ghana, collaboration between local governments and chiefs hold the key to local food security in Ghana. Chiefs remain important in Ghana’s governance. Chiefs in Accra control land for farming and other developmental activities, whiles the Accra Metropolitan Assembly is responsible for agriculture and land use policies. The paper examines the extent to which chiefs in Accra collaborate with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly for local food security. The paper employs qualitative approach to collect and analyse the data. The paper concludes that there is weak collaboration between the chiefs and the local government which negatively affects food security programmes.

Key Words: Food Security; Local governance; Chiefs; collaboration; food system; households.

I. INTRODUCTION

In Ghana, food security policies have generally centred on improving agricultural productivity, with little focus on improving the agro-value chain activities of marketing, and food processing for consumption. Meanwhile many of the food insecure households are food crop farmers (Owusu-Adjei, Baah-Mintah, and Salifu, 2017). Food security is “when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (FAO, 2006). There is a direct link between the strength of the food system and food security, hence stress in the food system results in food insecurity (Gregory, Ingram, and Brklacich, 2005). Over the years, successive governments of Ghana have initiated and implemented food security policies from the centre with little or no local participation. The results have often been improved national agricultural outlook but local areas remain relatively food insecure. Despite the state’s commitment to improving agricultural productivity, the cost of food remains high and in-accessible to the large section of the population below the poverty line. Average household expenditure on food is 45.8 percent of total income (Government of Ghana, 2014). Within Ghana’s governance architecture, local governments are responsible for households’ well-being.

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