Content area
Abstract
The dissertation examined the factors associated with declining food security in Northern Ghana in particular using primary and secondary data. The dissertation sought to more specifically assess if any the impact of migration and climate change on food security using the hunger, migration and environmental theories. The dissertation reviewed related literature to examine the possible connections between climate change, human migration and food security among peasant farmers in Northern Ghana. The reviewed literature revealed that out migration in rural and farming communities and climate change have adverse effects on food production levels and subsequently on food and nutrition security among smallholder farmers. The findings of the dissertation confirmed the facts in related literature that food security is significantly associated with out-migration and climate change with particular reference to Ghana and Northern Region specifically. The dissertation further confirmed that food production levels in the North are lower compared to production levels in the southern part of Ghana due to decreasing rainfall over the years in the Northern region of Ghana.
The Results showed a statistically significant relationship between food security and climate change. Additionally, out migration from farming communities increases the likelihood of food insecurity among small holder farmers, compounding low production levels. The study confirmed that out migration is largely associated with climate change in farming communities. The findings further revealed that out-migration of youth from farming communities has significant influence on food production levels. Both climate change and out migration are said to have significant influence on food production levels in the farming communities. Even though, some agricultural officials reported they did not think out migration has significant influence on food production levels, information from the household surveys and focus group discussions point to the contrary. Many of the farmers reported that their youth have been moving to the cities since farming became unattractive due to consistent low crop yield levels in the past decade. The finding that migration and food security have significant association in the farming communities in the north confirms results of a study by Hesselberg and others, that out-migration from agricultural areas is associated with national food deficits and rising food prices in many African countries (Hesselberg and Yaro, 2006; AARDO, 2010; Kullman, 2012). It can, therefore, be reported that this finding by Hesselberg and others holds for rural communities in northern Ghana.
The study recommends further exploration of other factors such as post-harvest losses, land tenure system and agricultural mechanization support that appear to also influence food production and nutrition security in farming communities in Northern Ghana since this study had limited time focus and could not delve into those issues.
The study further recommends that Ghana governments increase funding for the agricultural sector and also promote agricultural mechanization and foreign direct investment in the Ghanaian agricultural sector.