COVID-19, Agriculture and Food Security in Ghana; The Way Forward PDF

Ghana Journal of Science, Technology and Development | Vol. 8, Issue 2, December 2022 e-ISSN: 2343-6727 Ghana Journal of Science, Technology and Development |8.2|...

Ghana Journal of Science, Technology and Development | Vol. 8, Issue 2, December 2022 e-ISSN: 2343-6727 Ghana Journal of Science, Technology and Development |8.2| Afele et al., June Received: 2022. 23, 2022 Accepted: November 4, 2022 DOI: https://doi.org/10.47881/342.967x COVID-19, Agriculture and Food Security in Ghana; The Way Forward John Tennyson Afele 1,7, *, Emmanuel Gyan Ansah 1, Eunice Nimo 2,7, Sydney Stanley Blankson 3 , David Ofoe Gorleku 1, Esther Odi Tieku 4, Cindy Yaa Gyeniaw 5,7 Maxwell Osei Hene 1, & Babatunde Raphael Olanrewaju 6,7 1 Department of Agroforestry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi- Ghana. 2 School of Natural Science, Bangor University, Wales – United Kingdom 3 School of Public Service and Governance, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, Accra-Ghana 4 Cornfields Green Ghana Limited, Accra-Ghana. 5 Department of Environmental Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi-Ghana 6 Department of Agricultural Economics and Farm Management, University of Ilorin, Ilorin- Nigeria 7 African Graduate Mentorship and Coaching Programme, Ibadan - Nigeria. * Corresponding author: [email protected] ABSTRACT Food production, its availability, and accessibility will continue to be key contributors to human existence. The world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in the year 2020 and its effect trickled into reduced production of goods and services in many industries across the globe. Understanding the effects of the pandemic in Ghana necessitated the writeup of this paper. The study took the form of a desk review where current studies across the globe on the effect of the pandemic on agriculture and food security were reviewed, after which it was supported by data from self-placed questionnaire administration. Across the globe, agricultural production experienced a reduction that phased into food insecurity. This was not limited only to the extremely affected countries, but also, in countries where COVID-19 infections were low. One key limiting factor that spiked the challenge in the agricultural sector was a reduction in the availability of labour for production. In many leading food-producing countries, the challenge became acute when perishable food crops began to get damaged. In Ghana, the virus similarly led to restrictions in movements in and between epicenters. It was reported by the Ghana Statistical Service that, 77.4% of Ghanaians were negatively affected by the increased prices in food sold in the country. Without immediate and effective management as well as policy interventions from the Ghanaian government, it is highly possible for most farmers and agricultural businesses to completely collapse. This communication is to highlight some ongoing and disturbing effects of the pandemic to policymakers as well as individual and governmental strategies that have been put in place to curb adverse 147 Ghana Journal of Science, Technology and Development |8.2| Afele et al., 2022. effects on food production. This will help enhance Ghanaians’ standards of living amidst economic challenges. Keywords: COVID-19, Agriculture, Food Security, Ghana, Lockdown, Food Pricing. INTRODUCTION accessibility, and affordability of food (Mardones et al., 2020). Restrictions from the The coronavirus was first reported in Wuhan- covid pandemic led to food hoarding and China, in December 2019 (Bello and Ben- hikes in food prices (Bairagi et al., 2022). Hamadou, 2021). The virus was declared a global pandemic by the World Health In Ghana, the first case of COVID-19 was Organization (WHO) in March 2020 (Bello recorded on 12th March 2020 (Ministry of and Ben-Hamadou, 2021). Nations through Health, 2020). This triggered fear across the the WHO took drastic measures to contain the stretch of the country leading to panic buying virus’ spread (Ibukun and Adebayo, 2021). of foodstuff in the expectancy of lockdown These measures included lockdowns and (Asante and Mills, 2020). Eventually, restrictions of movements by people within lockdown came into force and resulted in a and between most countries of the world (Ma series of livelihood opportunities lost across et al., 2020; Malaiarasan, 2020; Laborde et the country (Abedi and Mills, 2020). Many al., 2020). The consequence of this was authors have evaluated the impact of the depriving people of their livelihoods, out- COVID-19 pandemic on agriculture and food doing culture, and most importantly labour security across the globe but little information shortage for food production (Bello and Ben- has been reported from specifically, Ghana Hamadou, 2021). (Bello and Ben-Hamadou, 2021). This paper aims to highlight the impact of the COVID- Agriculture is the largest employer in most 19 pandemic on agriculture and food security African countries, employing about 70% of in Ghana as well as identify the adopted the workforce (Thow et al., 2019). This sector strategies of overcoming its impact through being the backbone of human survival was individual strategies and governmental largely hit by the pandemic (Bilali, 2020; policies. Ceyclan and Ozkan, 2020; Muyiramye 2020; Rozaki, 2020; Wang & Huang, 2021). This MATERIALS AND METHODS rendered the world handicapped economically. The availability, accessibility, By use of Science-Direct and Research Gate, stability, and utilization of food have relevant literature (2020-2022) relating to the therefore become a major concern (Laborde subject was reviewed and the findings, et al., 2020). reported. Keywords and phrases used in According to Mardones et al. (2020), Food search for literature include; COVID-19, security contributes positively to United COVID-19 and Food Security, COVID-19 Nations Sustainable Development Goals 1 impact on agriculture, COVID-19 and (No Poverty) and 2 (Zero Hunger). Amidst Agriculture, Agriculture and lockdown, the pandemic, other environmental stresses COVID-19 pandemic and Food security, such as climate change, and drought also Corona Virus, and agriculture. The output expounded the reduced availability, was narrowed to Africa and Ghana. To 148 Ghana Journal of Science, Technology and Development |8.2| Afele et al., 2022. support findings with empirical data, a total countries, the production of food and other of 68 respondents were engaged. operations in the agricultural value chain Respondents were self-placed individuals could not be completely stopped (Bilali, who had access to mobile phones, tablets or 2020; Rozaki, 2020; Ceyclan and Ozkan, laptops, good internet connectivity and were 2020). Crops, mostly perishables, were still educated, such that they could read and exported though at lower rates and quantities understand questions in English by use of (Lin and Xhang, 2020). The pandemic first electronic data collection tools. largely impacted the Mediterranean countries in Europe (Ceyclan and Ozkan, 2020). These Data Analysis economies mainly rely on agriculture as they Data was analyzed by use of descriptive have the capacity to produce in large statistics and Relative Importance Index quantities for exportation (Lin and Xhang, (RII). 5-point Likert scale questions were 2020). analyzed through RII, where 1 was ‘strongly disagree (SD)’, 2 was ‘disagree (D)’, 3 was Harvesting and Post-harvest losses: ‘neutral (N)’, 4 was ‘agree (A)’ and 5 was In Ghana, Agriculture remains the major ‘strongly agree (SA)’. Mean statistics of employer (Mordor Intelligence, 2021). The Likert scale questions were interpreted as production, consumption and export analysis strongly disagree if mean is between 1-1.80, reported by Mordor Intelligence (2021) on disagree if between 1.81-2.60, neutral if crops such as cereals, fruits and vegetables between 2.61-3.40, agree if between 3.41- indicated that during the thick of the 4.20 and strongly agree if 4.21-5.00. Results pandemic, there was a drastic reduction in were then represented in tables and figures. their production coupled with the closure of hotels, bars, restaurants and other major local RESULTS buyers in the country. Also, most consumers were restricted in purchase of the produce COVID-19 and Agriculture hence leading to post-harvest losses. This was The impact of the covid pandemic on not different in the reports of AFAP agriculture is unlimited (Ceyclan and Ozkan, Partnership (2021), where it was reported 2020; Pu & Zhong, 2020; Wang & Huang, that, COVID-19 has negatively affected food 2021). Fears of food shortage became a production, access to farm inputs and its concern by the second quarter of 2020 as food distribution, agro-processing companies and supply chains were affected (Lin and Xhang, access to markets as well as market pricings 2020). Abroquah (2020), reported that, in Ghana. Per reports of the Hodey et al. approximately 60-70% of the food that was (2020), Twenty-two million Ghanaians given to needy families in Ghana were experienced a reduction in salary, this largely imported instead of local fresh food. Local affected farmers as they could not properly food production has already been severely finance the production of their goods for sale. reduced in Ghana through excessive The closure of conventional urban sales deforestation (Nimo et al., 2021; Afele et al., outlets resulted in consumers failing to make 2022) and illegal gold mining (Osman et al., purchases as planned (FAO, 2020). The 2022). Generally, the effect of the COVID-19 obstacles in outflow channels pushed sales on agriculture has to be considered in the pressure back to the production sectors, scope of supply and demand dimensions resulting in large amounts of unmarketable (Ceyclan and Ozkan, 2020). Although agricultural products (FAO, 2020). movements were restricted across many 149 Ghana Journal of Science, Technology and Development |8.2| Afele et al., 2022. COVID 19 and food security According to FAO (2008), food security Availability: occurs when all people at all times have The ruptures in the production and physical and economic access to sufficient, commercialization chains of agriculture in safe and nutritious food that meets their the local environment have led to the dietary needs and food preferences for an reduction in the availability of food in the active and healthy life. The four domains of world (Pereira and Oliveira, 2020). The close food security as reported by Peng and Berry down of open markets and low-budget (2019), are availability, accessibility, restaurants coupled with high transportation utilization and stability of the food. The cost of agricultural products enhanced food inability to get all these four domains as unavailability. In reports of Inegbedion stated by Nour et al. (2020), is termed food (2020), the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown insecurity. Food insecurity involves the has adversely affected availability of food to limited availability to access adequate and many countries in the world. appropriate food and other resources. The impact of the pandemic on food security was Stability: no different from other factors. The pandemic has caused swift fluctuations in the production trends of major food crops Accessibility: due to the lockdown and issues with labour Accessibility to food around the globe by availability. In most countries, farm people is one of the four domain that is production is directly proportional to the use greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic of high labour (Inegbedion, 2020), but due to (Sabine and Etienne, 2020). A study by restrictions on movement, the work force for Reardon et al. (2020), confirmed this by production was limited and led to the heavy stating that, disruptions in food supply due to changes in food production trends lockdown caused limited access to food. (Inegbedion, 2020). Again, through loss of income and assets, GRFC (2021), reported that, roughly 155 COVID-19 threatened most individuals’ million people were estimated to be acutely ability to access food (Laborde et al., 2020). food insecure which represented an increase This decline in income led to poverty and in 20 million people as compared to 2019 due caused the inadequacy of resources needed to to COVID-19 pandemic. According to purchase food in most countries. Mukiibi (2020), African countries, especially the developing nations like Ghana are shifting Utilization: their focus from the pandemic to the threats it This domain mainly deals with the required poses on their daily supply of food. Many nutrients needed by individuals to live. Food African countries are net importers of food utilization was similarly affected by the (Mukiibi, 2020). In a country like Ghana, COVID-19 pandemic globally (Laborde et lockdown directives led to the supply of low- al., 2020). Through movement restrictions, quality food (Mukiibi, 2020). Ayanlade and good and hygienic food that is needed for Redeny (2020), reported that restriction proper growth was limited (Laborde et al., imposed on movement by most African 2020). Malnutrition which induces weak countries coincided with the planting periods immune system has been generally for many staple crops, which has resulted in exacerbate in extremely poor countries across high levels of food insecurity on the the globe as a result of COVID-19 (Laborde continent. et al., 2020). 150 Ghana Journal of Science, Technology and Development |8.2| Afele et al., 2022. COVID 19, hunger, food pricing and shows that the FAO global food price index marketing ticked up from 102.5 to 107.5 between 2019 The restrictions imposed by major food and 2020 (Buchholz, 2021). producers globally led to increase in food prices (Omer & Hassen, 2020; Khan et al., Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the 2021). Before COVID-19, food prices were Ghanaian agri-food systems. generally stable though there had been some The COVID-19 pandemic had minor increases due to Climate Change and unquestionable devastating implications for insects’ infestations across Africa and South worldwide food systems, with the global America (Mouloudj et al., 2020). The south being no exception. Even before this pandemic aggravated the challenges of the pandemic, Ghana's agri-food systems had already crippling industry in many numerous challenges, including poor road developing countries (Khan et al., 2020). networks, marketing, storage, and safety, Labour sourced from cheap countries in the insufficient machinery and farm supplies, and production of food faced out and farmers lacking the capital to finance their accumulatively increased food prices (Fawzi farms seasonally, to name a few (Darkwah, et al., 2020; Malaiarasan 2020; Mardones et 2021). Quarantines and restrictions were al., 2020). prioritized in most countries as part of the The price of food items spiked in major cities response to the virus' spread. These measures across Ghana getting to the end of March, had a significant impact on food production, 2020. These prices however have remained availability, supply chains, and consumer fairly stable through to the end of the year. preferences for food commodities (Siche, The food inflation margin of the country 2020). The narrative was similar in Ghana, increased by 5.3% between March and July where border closures and import bans 2020. It was reported that high prices of food highlighted how fragile and vulnerable the affected close to 77.4% of Ghanaians in a country's food systems have been. study by the Ghana Statistical Service. The The country’s agricultural production is Government in response to food scarcity and characterized by a rain-fed system, with high food prices in the country during three- smallholder rural farmers totally reliant on weeks lockdown, made available to the poor farm machinery and inputs from nearby urban and homeless one hot meal per day (Nunoo, cities (Kwapong et al.,2021). Due to the 2020). According to reports of Nunoo (2020) pandemic's restrictions, these machinery and for the British Broadcasting Corporation, the agricultural inputs operators who supply rural Ghana government spent $9,383,487 farmers were unable to travel between (GH¢54.3 million) on cooked food during the communities. This situation often delayed lockdown period in major cities across the output, resulting in lower yields in most crops country. This figure was estimated to have cultivated during the pandemic's peak (Agyei fed 470,000 families within Greater Accra -Holmes et al., 2021). Again, the supply chain and Kumasi environs in the heat of the was directly impacted, since restrictions pandemic (Nunoo, 2020). necessitated the observance of social According to Hillen (2020), the pandemic led distancing standards, causing delays in to the popular use of online grocery shops transportation and logistics operations within which also saw a major rise in its food prices. the sector. Another troubling event was the Similarly, Buchholz (2020), also reported ongoing food inflation of basic food that food prices globally went up in 2020 as a commodity prices across the country, result of the corona virus pandemic. Data 151 Ghana Journal of Science, Technology and Development |8.2| Afele et al., 2022. resulting in nutrition failures and food governments and all major stakeholders to insecurity at the household level. collaboratively work together and identify the necessary investments and reforms to COVID-19 and the Way Forward for The strengthen our agri-food system's resilience Ghanaian Agri-Food Systems. to any uncertainties. Following pre-COVID-19 projections, by Available research findings and policy papers 2030, almost 9 out of 10 extremely poor (Vorley et al., 2012; Rozaki, 2020) have also individuals would be in Social Secuirty proposed the following strategies to Administration (Bukari et al., 2021). overcome all pandemics and secure food in According to current projections, COVID-19 the future: Farmers are being encouraged to will stall global progress toward achieving build networks for their agricultural input zero poverty and hunger in SSA nations by supply; partnering with private sectors to three years by 2030 (Bukari et al., 2021), rigorously invest in warehouse infrastructure; including Ghana, making it difficult to reach supporting farmers with soft loans; investing zero hunger. in the food processing system, strengthening Research by Agyei-Holmes et al. (2021) the online systems for organizing food trade, identified some already established policies delivery and payment; as well as investing in that proved to be highly useful during the national data systems to acquire real-time pinnacle of the COVID-19 uncertainties. The information for improved decision-making, National Food Buffer Stock Company's are just a few considerations. (NAFCO) one-district-one-warehouse strategy ensured that grains were accessible Results from respondents and available in most areas, including Out of the total respondents, 61.8% were vulnerable inmates in prisons. Planting for females whiles 38.2% were males. When food and jobs (PFJ) was also acknowledged asked if COVID-19 had negative impact on for consolidating grain, legume, and cereal food security, a majority (85.3%) said yes. On improvement. Nonetheless, large towns whether COVID-19 affected respondents including cities like Accra and Kumasi saw personally with regards to food security, increases in food purchase prices. Darkwah 60.3% of the total said yes. This was so (2021) findings, showed how the PFJ flagship because a maximum of 55.9% indicated that program gave insufficient attention to critical they ate less during the peak of the pandemic, components of the agri-food system such as whereas 60.7% said they had several processing, marketing, transportation, safety, challenges in getting food during the peak of and nutrition. the pandemic (Figure 1). All respondents In light of the aforementioned concerns, (100%) had their highest level of education to various debates in Ghana's agricultural policy be tertiary, ranging from the age of 19 to 38 area have advocated for a comprehensive years. Most respondents, 94.1% are single resilience strategy, analysis, and policy- whiles the remaining were married. All oriented interventions aimed at establishing a respondents agreed to the fact that the prices sustainable and resilient food system. For of food items escalated during the peak of the example, during the commemoration of pandemic and food was difficult to come by. World Food Day 2021, FAO emphasized the need for a strategic partnership with 152 Ghana Journal of Science, Technology and Development |8.2| Afele et al., 2022. 50 43.9 39 40 Percentage 30 20 7.3 7.3 10 2.5 0 Access to Food Reduced daily Sale of unhealthy Inability to food/Scacity affordability/Cost intake of food meals including purchase food packaging due to lockdown Food Challanges during peak of COVID_19 in Ghana Figure 1: Food challenges faced by respondents during the peak of COVID-19 in Ghana. With food security questions, respondents of the respondents indicated that they have attached more importance to questions on developed strategies to control future food availability of food on the market with an RII security challenges should there be a of 0.67 followed by access to food with an RII pandemic. Some of the individual strategies of 0.59 whilst affordability of food with an mentioned include; buy food in bulk and store RII of 0.54 was attached with least for lean seasons, develop home gardens to importance (Table 1). From descriptive cater for vegetables and some fruits and statistics, respondents agreed to all four but reduce food wastage of over eating (Figure one question (mean of 3.22 ± 1.51) on food 2). security as shown in Table 2. A total of 63.2% Food security measures to prepare for Superstitious beliefs 4 possible future pandemic Consume less food 4 Maintain food hygiene practices 4 Develop homegardens for basic foodstuffs 8 Food preservation/Storage Buy foodstuffs in bulk Figure 2: Proposed measures to combat food shortage by respondents. 153 Ghana Journal of Science, Technology and Development |8.2| Afele et al., 2022. Table 1: Relative Importance Index of respondent’s perceptions of food security status during COVID-19 Perception statements SA A N D SD Total n A*n RII Rank (5) (4) (3) (2) (1) I was not able to afford food 35 40 63 30 15 183 68 340 0.54 4th I was not able to access food 30 64 78 20 10 202 68 340 0.59 2nd There was less available food 50 112 45 14 8 229 68 340 0.67 1st on the market I was not able to eat balance 40 36 72 20 17 185 68 340 0.54 3rd diet n=68, Relative Importance Index (Ayarkwa, 2022), numbers in parenthesis are weights attached to Likert scale questions. SA (Strongly agree), A (Agree), N (Neutral), D (Disagree), SD (Strongly disagree) Table 2: Descriptive statistic of response to perception statements on food security during the peak of COVID 19 in Ghana. Perception statements Mean ± SD Interpretation I was not able to afford food 3.79 ± 1.50 Agree I was not able to access food 3.53 ± 1.43 Agree There was less available food on the market 3.22 ± 1.51 Neutral I was not able to eat balance diet 3.97 ± 1.52 Agree DISCUSSION poorest, who predominantly depend on agriculture are likely to run out of food. The results on the negative impact of the Consequently, hunger, starvation and pandemic on food security confirms what was malnutrition due to inadequate and unhealthy stated by Mouloudj et al. (2020) that, the feeding habits, put their health and wellbeing pandemic threatened food security even in at risk (Workie et al., 2020). This reflects the some developed countries, whereas observations from individuals affected by the developing countries are the most affected pandemic and they eating less during the peak due to their high dependency in securing their of the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic food supplies. Results obtain on the had a strong impact on both developed and challenges in getting food during the fragile economies, leaving the negative pandemic confirms the observation made by impacts on production networks, a significant Mouloudj et al. (2020) that, food demand is reduction on agricultural activities (Buheji et affected by the pandemic due to the al., 2020). According to Stephens et movement constraints, low purchasing power al. (2020), food systems and food distribution which has a tremendous impact on vulnerable channels of most countries across income groups. In these times of crisis, the world’s 154 Ghana Journal of Science, Technology and Development |8.2| Afele et al., 2022. spectrum have been highly disrupted. This poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger) and 3 (Good health was evident in results as respondent attached and Well-being). strong importance (0.67) to availability of food. A study conducted by Jafri et al. (2021) revealed that respondents reported changes in CONFLICT OF INTEREST the price of food items, particularly in African Authors declare no conflict of interest. countries and is evident in results of this study. A decline in imports can lead to REFERENCES increased prices and a shortage of basic consumer goods, which may result in an Abedi, A. L. & Mills, O.R., 2020. 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