Security in Uncertainty: Analysis of Climate Risks and Household Response to Food Insecurity in Northern Ghana

Ghana represents an important case study for food insecurity research because of the high concentration of hungry populations in the country’s north relative to the south. While the increasing climate change and weather variabilities in north Ghana explain the region’s widespread hunger, there are also non-climatic factors that undermine households’ vulnerability. This dissertation explores smallholder farming households’ experiences with climate hazard events by emphasizing their vulnerabilities and response behaviours to climate and seasonality-induced food insecurities. It adopts a micro-level food systems lens integrated with livelihoods, vulnerability, and disaster risk theories. It is also informed by fieldwork and engagement with farming households in northern Ghana. A key argument of this dissertation is that food insecurity in northern Ghana is influenced by not only the climate-dependency of food system activities in the region but also the vulnerability in how food is produced, harvested, stored, and marketed. The findings reveal that climate change events lead to food crop productivity losses, cause damage to stored grain, and disrupt food prices, which affects food security. It also shows how households’ and food systems’ vulnerabilities intensify these climatic impacts and the concomitant variations in yearly food availability and access. The study further finds that poor households are not passive victims; they strategically adopt various actions to manage climate-induced food insecurity risks. In particular, the households’ responses follow a sequential order to preserve critical assets for current consumption needs and for the sustainability of agricultural livelihood. However, some of the response actions are associated with excruciating costs that could rebound and erode efforts for sustainable food security, especially for women and youth. Overall, the research provides evidence-based knowledge to address climate-related challenges for food security in the northern part of the country and to minimize regional disparities, which have long-term political implications. It also makes a strong case to draw attention to the diversity, sequence, and gendered nature of household responses to food crises.