An assessment of the extent and causes of food insecurity in northern Ghana using a livelihood vulnerability framework

Hesselberg, Jan; Yaro, Joseph Awetori

doi:10.1007/s10708-006-9007-2

Cited by 94 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 16 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…• the effects of power and gender relations on the lives of specific groups of people (e.g., women) (Canagarajah et al 2001;Mandel 2004;Oberhauser and Pratt 2004), • the diversity of the strategies used by the rural poor to make a living (Abdulai and CroleRees 2001;Batterbury 2001;Smith et al 2001;Manvell 2006;Yaro 2006), • the success of climate change adaptation strategies Jones et al 2010;Osbahr et al 2010), • the effects of policies on the lives of the poor (Rakodi 1999;Barrett et al 2001), • issues of food security (Sutherland et al 1999;Gladwin et al 2001;Hesselberg and Yaro 2006;Codjoe and Owusu 2011), and • the effects of global environmental change on the poor (Hahn et al 2009). …”

Section: Sustainable Livelihoodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They found that agriculture-based households could not rely on a single livelihood strategy, and cultural norms constrain women in their choice of livelihood strategies. Hesselberg and Yaro (2006) demonstrate that Ghanaian households require diverse livelihood strategies in order to reduce their food insecurity. They found that low food security is a result of poor biophysical conditions, low social capital and few opportunities for local non-farm income generating activities.…”

Section: Sustainable Livelihoodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This framework focuses specifically on the food security outcomes of livelihoods. Hesselberg and Yaro (2006) develop a livelihood vulnerability framework to assess the food insecurity situation in villages in marginal environments in northern Ghana. This framework conceptualizes vulnerability as the result of the interactions among the threats faced by people to their livelihoods (e.g., physical, economic, political shocks), their capabilities (a function of their sensitivity and their resilience), and the outcomes of their strategies.…”

Section: The Climate Change Food Security and Livelihoods Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Farmers are already noticing changes in rainfall and in seasonality (Casale et al 2010;Laube et al 2012;Tambo and Abdoulaye 2013). They are experiencing unpredictability in the onset of the rainy season (Assan and Kumar 2009;Laube et al 2012), increased incidences of drought (Hesselberg and Yaro 2006;Westerhoff and Smit 2009), and more intense rainfall, sometimes leading to increased flooding (Westerhoff and Smit 2009;Casale et al 2010;Tschakert et al 2010). These biophysical drivers act to deplete people's natural capital by shortening the growing season and decreasing soil moisture and soil fertility (Quaye 2008;Batisani 2012;Milgroom and Giller 2013).…”

Section: Vulnerabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, low crop yields affect people's access to food, since households usually sell surplus at the market as a source of income. Hence, low crop yields are a stressor that acts on people's financial capital (Hesselberg and Yaro 2006;Yaro 2006;Codjoe and Owusu 2011).…”

Section: Vulnerabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Climate change, food security, and livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa

2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly vulnerable to climate change. Multiple biophysical, political, and socioeconomic stresses interact to increase the region's susceptibility and constrain its adaptive capacity. Climate change is commonly recognized as a major issue likely to have negative consequences on food security and livelihoods in the region. This paper reviews three bodies of scholarship that have evolved somewhat separately, yet are inherently interconnected: climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation, food security, and sustainable livelihoods. The paper develops a conceptualization of the relationships among the three themes and shows how food security's vulnerabilities are related to multiple stresses and adaptive capacities, reflecting access to assets. Food security represents one of several livelihood outcomes. The framework shows how several research paradigms relate to the issue of food security and climate change and provides a guide for empirical investigations. Recognizing these interconnections can help in the development of more effective policies and programs. The framework is applied here to synthesize findings from an array of studies in subSaharan Africa dealing with vulnerability to climate change, food security, and livelihoods.

show abstract

Section: Sustainable Livelihoodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sustainable Livelihoodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Climate Change Food Security and Livelihoods Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Vulnerabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Vulnerabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Climate change, food security, and livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa

2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Health insurance enrolment in the Upper West Region of Ghana: Does food security matter?

Antabe

Atuoye

Sano

et al. 2019

Health Planning & Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Summary Toward achieving universal health coverage, Ghana's national health insurance has been acclaimed as a pro‐poor scheme, yet been criticized for leaving the poor behind. Arising from this is how poverty has been operationalized and how poor people are targeted for enrolment into the scheme. We examine the role of food insecurity (not currently considered) as a multidimensional vulnerability concept on enrolment into Ghana's health insurance using binary logistics regression on cross‐sectional survey of household heads (n = 1438) in the Upper West Region of Ghana. Our analyses show that heads of severely food‐insecure households were significantly less likely to enroll in national health insurance scheme (NHIS) relative to households who reported being food‐secure (OR = 0.36, P < .05). We also found education, occupation, and religion as significant predictors of health insurance enrolment. Based on our findings, it is crucial to incorporate food security status in the identification of vulnerable people for free enrolment in Ghana's health insurance.

show abstract

Environmental variability and vulnerable livelihoods: Minimising risks and optimising opportunities for poverty alleviation

Assan

Caminade

Obeng

2009

J of Intl Development

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper presents an analysis that explores theoretical and policy debates on environmental variability, sustainable livelihood strategies, household well-being and development policy. The paper focuses on communities in vulnerable environments with limited well-being and poor assets. The study examines the changing livelihood strategies and livelihood options of households located within ecosystems perceived to be experiencing environmental change in Northeastern Ghana. Livelihood diversification as a poverty reduction strategy has been argued to result in improved well-being or perpetuates a cycle of impoverishment. On-farm and non-farm diversification and migration as livelihood strategies are considered as survival strategies in environments experiencing rising temperatures and erratic rainfall patterns. It is argued that diversified livelihoods are operated within a cycle of impoverishment. The paper calls for geographically and locally sensitive policy intervention approaches that can sustainably expand the livelihood options of the poor in changing environments. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

show abstract

An assessment of the extent and causes of food insecurity in northern Ghana using a livelihood vulnerability framework

Cited by 94 publications

References 16 publications

Climate change, food security, and livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa

Climate change, food security, and livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa

Health insurance enrolment in the Upper West Region of Ghana: Does food security matter?

Environmental variability and vulnerable livelihoods: Minimising risks and optimising opportunities for poverty alleviation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About