Crop–livestock diversification in the mixed farming systems: implication on food security in Northern Ghana

Abstract

Background Achieving food security is a global priority and a concern for most African countries, including Ghana. Food systems providing varied and healthy diets without compromising the natural resource base, such as integrated crop–livestock diversification, are important for development planning and policy. Using cross-sectional data obtained from 1284 smallholder households in northern Ghana, we used a double-censored Tobit model in a conditional mixed-process (CMP) framework to estimate the impact of crop diversification on household food security. Results The results showed that household-specific, socioeconomic, and institutional factors influence crop–livestock diversification and food security in northern Ghana. Moreover, we found that higher intensity of crop–livestock diversification translates into a greater probability of achieving food security. Conclusions Crop–livestock diversification is essential to Ghana’s pursuit of the zero-hunger global agenda as it enhances food security without adversely affecting biodiversity and ecosystem health. Therefore, it should be incorporated into Ghana’s ongoing agricultural programme dubbed, planting and rearing for food and jobs.

Improving efficiency of knowledge and technology diffusion using community seed banks and farmer-to-farmer extension: experiences from Malawi

“…Legumes and cereals, (with exception of maize), are essential components of Malawi's and many SSA agrifood systems, whose seed systems are underinvested by the private sector, [10,11]. Only 2.4-17% of legume and other self-pollinated crop certified seed is delivered to smallholders in developing countries by private sector [9].…”

Crop diversification and farm household food and nutrition security in Northern Ghana

“…A related study by Danso-Abbeam et al ( 2021 ) on the implications of crop–livestock diversification in the mixed farming system on food security in northern Ghana also found positive and statistically significant effects of crop–livestock diversification on household food security.…”

“…Another enigma from our review of the literature concerns the measurement of food security indicators. Studies like Chinnadurai et al ( 2016 ), Deb and Bayes ( 2018 ), Pellegrini and Tasciotti ( 2014 ), Kumar et al ( 2015 ), Mulmi et al ( 2017 ), Taruvinga et al ( 2013 ), Mahbub et al ( 2016 ), Goshu et al ( 2012 ), Mulwa and Visser ( 2020 ), Danso-Abbeam et al ( 2021 ) and Baba and Abdulai ( 2021 ) measure food security by the dietary diversity indicator. Few studies like Mongo et al ( 2018 ) applied the Food Consumption Score (FCS) and Household Food Insecurity Access Scale while Adjimoti and Kwadzo ( 2018 ) used a multidimensional food security index constructed from Principal Component Analysis.…”

Assessing complementary synergies for integrated crop–livestock systems under conservation agriculture in Tunisian dryland farming systems

“…They argue that in addition to diversifying the system, combining cropping with livestock was a good way to increase economic resilience. In the same sense, Danso-Abbeam et al (2021), by applying a network model, investigate the input and output flow in a Latino Caribbean farm's integrated crop-livestock system and its relation to food security. They conclude that, with a significance level of 5%, the integrated crop-livestock diversity index was found to have a positive and significant impact on food security.…”