EFFECTS OF CLIMATE RESILIENCE ON HOUSEHOLDS’ FOOD SECURITY IN GHANA

Abstract

The achievement of SDG 2 (ending hunger) and SDG 13 (climate action) across the Globe could enable developing countries to fight the menaces of food insecurity and climate change impacts. Resilience to climate change is a sine qua non in achieving sustainability and a food secured and environmentally friendly economy. This study sought to determine the resilience capacity of households in Ghana. It specifically examined the interactive effect of shocks and resilience capacity and how these interactions influence household food security. The study employed Ghana Living Standards Survey round seven (GLSS 7) data from 14,009 households. Different econometric models and analytical procedures were employed to achieve the objectives of the study. These included the resilience index measurement and analysis II (RIMA II), endogenous switching regression with the ordered outcome, partial proportional odd models and logit regression, models. The study found that households within the rural area face the burden of food insecurity more than people in the urban area. In addition, the regions in Northern Ghana were more vulnerable to food insecurity than the other regions of Ghana. The marginal effect of resilience on household food security shows that a resilient household is less likely to be food insecure. Shocks had a negative influence on the household food security status. However, the interactions between these shocks and the household resilience capacity showed a decreasing effect on food insecurity. The findings further revealed that urban households are more resilient and more food secure than rural households. Besides, the study found that while household resilience capacity positively influences the food security status, households’ exposure to shocks (both covariates and idiosyncratic shocks) negatively affected their food security. The study recommends that public investment in infrastructure will be required to deliberately reduce rural-urban migration, enhance households’ resilience and bridge the food insecurity gap. This will require collaborations between and among institutions; both private and public.