Food security in the face of climate change: The promise of biotechnology
Food security is often tied to national security, making every effort to achieve food sufficiency crucial. The availability of food serves as a measure of national stability, cohesion, peace, and prosperity.
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The United Nations defines food security as always having physical, social and economic access to sufficient healthy and safe food that meets food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life.
But ensuring food security on the African Continent remains a major challenge. This is supported by the 2022 report of the Agriculture and Food Organisation (FAO), which reported that “In 2022, nearly 282 million people in Africa were undernourished, an increase of 57 million people since the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The report further indicated that an estimated 868 million people were moderately or severely food-insecure in Africa in 2022 and more than one-third of them – 342 million people – were severely food- insecure.
In the case of Ghana, for instance, the Ghana Statistical Service’s (GSS) annual household income and expenditure survey strategy for the first and second quarters of 2022, indicate that 49.1 per cent of the population experienced food insecurity with higher prevalence in the rural areas than the urban areas.
The GSS statistics is not only troubling but alarming considering the fact that majority of Ghana’s food comes from the rural areas. Another challenge is that majority of these rural farmers are smallholder farmers who rely on the traditional way of farming, which is mainly rain-fed type of farming.
When the government launched its flagship program, Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ), five years ago, it significantly encouraged many people to venture into farming, leading to increased food production. However, despite these gains, the high cost of food remains a major concern for many Ghanaians.
Last year, four agricultural sector groups raised concerns about a potential food crisis in the coming year and urged the government to take swift action by increasing investment in domestic food production to prevent it.
They recommended that the government boost investment in local food production, provide soft loans, and subsidise mechanisation and other inputs for farmers.
The Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) initiative indeed saw substantial investment, with over GH¢2 billion allocated to subsidies for fertilizers, improved seeds, and agrochemicals.
Over the past five years, agricultural machinery has been imported into the country and provided to farmers at subsidised prices to enhance food production.
The challenge
Despite the significant investments and interventions aimed at ensuring food sufficiency and security, food prices remain high. This has led to the perception that some individuals are reaping excessive profits at the expense of farmers and consumers along the value chain.
The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) have implemented the Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis (CFSVA) to measure food insecurity among the population.
The CFSVA has revealed that households that depend mainly on agriculture as their source of household income, unskilled labour, household heads who are less educated, and remittances-dependent households are more likely to be food insecure.
The study also found that the Northern Region has the highest level of food insecurity, with 598,706 people experiencing food insecurity, followed by the Upper East Region with 634,293 people.
CFSVA Project Coordinator at the Ghana Statistical Service, Dr Peter Takyi Peprah, explained that the regions with the highest level of food insecurity are also the areas most prone to adverse weather conditions, such as floods and droughts.
He said those regions were disproportionately affected by food prices during their lean season and bumper season.
He pointed out that the districts in the country facing the highest rates of food insecurity were Kassena Nankana West District with about 78.8 per cent; Karaga, 75.9 per cent; Builsa South, 74.5 per cent; Tatale, 68.4 per cent; Bolgatanga East, 66.3 per cent; Kumbungu, 61.2 per cent; Jirapa, 61 per cent; Chereponi 60.3 per cent; Tempane 59.2 per cent; and Bongo, 57.3 per cent.
What then is the problem?
Many have questioned whether Ghana has the resources to achieve food security, especially given the country’s vast arable lands. The reason they ask this question is that in spite of the fact that Ghana is blessed with this natural vegetation, the country still faces the challenge of food insecurity.
Most lands being cultivated in Ghana are mainly done by smallholder farmers, who rely on the traditional way of farming, which is mainly rain-fed.
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According to the Ghana Statistical Service’s (GSS) annual household income and expenditure survey strategy for the first and second quarters of 2022, 49.1 per cent of the population experienced food insecurity with higher prevalence in the rural areas than the urban areas. Interestingly, Ghana has arable lands across all its 16 regions that are not being cultivated.
The recently released Ghana 2023 mid-year Trade Report by the Ghana Statistical Service delves into the intricate landscape of the country's food product trade, shedding light on key trends, dominant categories, and notable trading partners.
Amidst the diverse array of commodities, food products emerge as a pivotal component of Ghana's trade dynamics, constituting about one-fourth (23.9%) of total exports in the first half of 2023.
In parallel, imports of food products account for 13.3 per cent of the total, underscoring the significance of food trade in the nation's economic landscape.
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A closer look at food imports reveals a concentration in five distinct categories, with more than half (50.0%) falling into cereals and grains products (22.8%), animal or vegetable fats and oils (12.7%), meat (9.5%), and sugar products (8.6%).
This segmentation provides valuable insights into the composition of Ghana's food imports, reflecting the diverse culinary needs of the population.
Why biotech?
Farmers to a great extent work hard to ensure that there is enough food to sustain themselves, their families and communities. However, in Ghana and indeed across the African Continent, farmers depend on the climate for how good a farming season would be.
Rainfall pattern is therefore critical to the success of the work of farmers across the country and the African continent as a whole. On top of this unpredictable rainfall pattern, farmers are also faced with the issues of pest infestation, low crop yield, and fast depleting soil nutrients.
It is against this backdrop that many agricultural experts and plant breeders believe that adopting biotechnology could help the continent’s farmers to produce more food at cheaper cost than relying on conventional type of crops.
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An article titled "African farmers need GMOs more than other farmers in the world - Ghanaian scientist" authored published on Graphic Online in May, 2022, quoted Ghanaian plant geneticist and founding Director of the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) of the University of Ghana, Professor Eric Yirenkyi Danquah, of having said that smallholder farmers in Africa need access to biotech crops more than farmers anywhere else in the world.
For him, the time has come for African governments to use available data on biotech solutions to take decisions that would improve livelihoods and lift millions out of extreme hunger and poverty in Africa.
He expressed the concern that “anti-GMO activism has stalled the adoption of genetically engineered crops in many countries, contributing to the perpetuation of unsafe pesticide use, hunger and poverty.”
Prof. Danquah said currently, only seven countries in Africa had approved GMOs, stressing that GMOs were under various stages of development in 11 other African countries, including Ghana.
He was of the view that “there is an urgent need for more food to be produced on less land with less chemicals,” saying “the development of improved varieties of our staple crops with high yields and resistance to the physical and biological stresses is absolutely necessary for a green revolution and food self-sufficiency in Ghana.”
Why biotechnology
Agricultural biotechnology is a vital tool for tackling the causes and effects of climate change while advancing key societal objectives like reducing poverty, enhancing global food security, and minimising agriculture's environmental impact. This technology guarantees a healthy planet and a sustainable future.
The reason is that the impact of human activities on climate change, particularly through the emission of greenhouse gases, is undeniable. Climate change affects agriculture by raising temperatures and increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events.
Agricultural biotechnology offers solutions to both mitigate and adapt to environmental changes. Biotech products can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as cover crops for sustainable biofuels and longer-lasting fruits and vegetables that reduce food waste.
It is important to mention that using agricultural biotechnology such as genetically modified organism and genome editing, plant and animal breeders can more quickly develop plants and animals that are adapted to changing environmental conditions, such as drought, increased temperatures, new diseases, and other stressors.
In addition to helping to mitigate and adapt to climate change, application of agricultural biotechnology can help advance the sustainability of food systems.
For example, plant breeders are using agricultural biotechnology to develop drought-tolerant crops including rice, wheat, soybean, and cotton. Drought-tolerant corn, including certain varieties developed with genetic engineering, is already being grown across drought-prone areas in the United States. Currently, drought-tolerant wheat has been approved for use in Argentina and Brazil.
It is important to mention that through evidence-based innovation and science, including agricultural biotechnology, we can expand the toolbox for farmers, fishers, and other producers to produce more with less – less land, less water, fewer inputs and resources. Innovative and creative solutions such as GMOs and Genome Editing are necessary for food systems to keep pace with evolving needs and challenges.
Increasing agricultural productivity can reduce agriculture’s environmental impacts, and also alleviate poverty, improve food security and nutrition, and raise standards of living.