LOCAL FARMING SYSTEMS AND FOOD SECURITY IN THE BUILSA AREA OF NORTHERN GHANA

ABSTRACT

Societies are dynamic: so too are the farming systems that provide their food and other needs. The study examines transitions in farming systems and their contribution to food security at the household level. This is important as most people in rural areas rely on farming for their basic needs. These systems are under pressure from both external and internal forces with diverse impacts on food and livelihoods. A mixed-methods approach, which combined a survey with different qualitative strategies was used to investigate transitions, local conceptualisations of sustainable farming, and the contribution of local farming systems to food security. The results show important transitions in farming practices as most farm households are shifting from traditional to modern farm practices. These shifts, which involve the move to mechanical methods of tillage; the cultivation of new varieties of existing crops; the increasing use of external inputs; and increases in acreage; vary across space as access to these exclude poor households. The study additionally found that, locally, there are varied conceptualisations of sustainable farming; but most farm households generally considered sustainable farming as good yields at the end of a farming cycle. Markers of sustainability were derived from focus group discussions to measure the ecological, economic, and social domains of sustainable farming. Results from the survey showed that more than two-thirds of farm households did not perceive their farming systems as sustainable within all the domains of sustainable farming. Results from focus groups, informal conversations, and in-depth interviews show that farming systems in Builsa contribute differently to food security. The contributions of the various farming systems are very important because of the integrated nature of the livelihood activities of farm households. However, a probit regression model shows that farm households are better off if they combined the bush farming system with other systems in their pursuit of food security at the household level.