Food and nutritional adequacy in Ghana

This study analyzes first year data from the Ghana Living Standards Survey and presents the nutritional implications (in terms of calories) of research findings on food consumption and acquisition patterns. The report focuses on food consumption rather than directly on nutrition, since governments use consumption as an input in establishing welfare -- and thus nutritional -- policies. The study demonstrates the importance of carefully analyzing food price and consumption patterns before designing programs to assist vulnerable groups. For example, despite extensive substitution between commodities by the poor, calorie availability at the household level responds to grain prices, especially in the savannah zone. But government capacity to improve nutrition simply by controlling prices is limited. Thus, while a reduction in cassava prices would contribute directly to improved calorie intake, the government has little control over cassava prices. At the same time, however, programs to reduce the cost of cassava transport or to reduce spoilage would have a significant effect on household calorie availability. The report concludes by pointing out the usefulness, despite limitations, of the cross-sectional survey on which the study was based, since its format is similar to that of several other surveys proposed or being undertaken in sub-Saharan Africa.