POOR co-ordination among key stakeholders in food security programmes has been identified as a major challenge in dealing with the problems in the Northern Region.
As a result of the situation, there is duplication of functions among the key partners, in spite of the huge investments made over the years to solve food insecurity in the region.
Other factors that militate against achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of eradicating extreme hunger and poverty include lack of integration and collaboration and the use of different development approaches towards achieving that goal.
Figures show that the Northern Region occupies about 40 per cent of the agricultural lands of Ghana, comprising sub-humid to semi-arid guinea and Sudan Savannah, with great potential for an agricultural revolution in the country.
The region is also considered in many respects as being the bread basket of the country, with about 70 per cent of its labour force engaged in agriculture, producing mainly food crops such as maize, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava, groundnuts, cowpea, yams and soya beans.
In spite of this huge potential, agriculture productivity and growth and in particular, the goal of ensuring food security continue to be a mirage.
Admittedly, although some successes have been chalked up over the years, much more needs to be done, considering the vast potential that exists in the region and the huge investments made in eradicating hunger in the area.
The absence of an effective platform and leadership to facilitate co-ordination and collaboration is another challenge to achieving the goals of food security in the region.
The non-adherence to land planning and development regulations is also a factor hindering efforts at achieving food security in the region.
At a recent workshop in Tamale on promoting food security through participation and collaboration, the 50 participants, drawn from the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, the Northern Regional Co-ordinating Council, the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute, the Lands Commission, Care International, World Vision and the Forestry Department, stressed the need for effective collaboration among key partners in food security.
The workshop brought together the different actors in agriculture in the region under the leadership of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, with funding from the Urban Agriculture Network (URBANET).
It was aimed at engendering discussions to chart the way forward in dealing with food security so that interventions would be strategic and timely.
It was also expected to establish a platform where there would be greater comparability of programmes and interventions from one place to another, increased vigour, greater transparency and increased relevance of agricultural programmes to the regional and national strategic decision making and actions.
The Programme Co-ordinator of URBANET, Mr Rashid Zakaria, stressed the need for dialoguing with the right and appropriate stakeholders to ensure commitment and resource sharing in urban agriculture to impact positively on food security in the region.
The Deputy Northern Regional Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Mr Stephen Yakubu, said many well designed programmes were still being carried out in parallel interventions in many communities, all aimed at the overall objective of trying to help improve food security and sustainable livelihoods in northern Ghana.
He said the complexity of food security could be simplified into three distinct areas — food availability, accessibility and utilisation.
Indeed, one area of concern to some of the participants at the workshop was the establishment of food security networks (FSNs) as a strategy to boost food security in the region.
It is worthy of note that the government has developed a policy to guide agricultural development in Ghana called the Food and Agricultural Sector Development Policy (FASDEP), whose key objectives are to increase the food needs of Ghanaians for local consumption, local industry and export.
It also aims at creating wealth for farmers, most of whom are small-scale operators.
The strategies for its implementation include enhancing opportunities in the private sector to act as conduits for increased reach from government, especially small-scale operators in the food, livestock and fisheries sectors.
One major issue identified under FASDEP is the low incomes earned by farmers, mostly food crop farmers, and fishermen. In the Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS) 5, food crop farmers were identified among the lowest income earners in the country, although they form more than 50 per cent of the population.
Furthermore, the GLSS 5 report also indicated that food crop farmers constituted 46 per cent of the poor in the country.
It is, therefore, imperative for key stakeholders to ensure that food security networks are developed at the district and regional levels to address food security issues.
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