Ghana ranks 67th on Food Index

Ghana has been ranked 67th in this year’s Global Food Security Index, a marginal improvement over last year’s ranking when it placed 68th out of 105 countries.

This year’s Index expands on 25 previously identified food security indicators to determine how two new factors, political corruption and urbanisation, affect access to safe, nutritious and affordable food.

“Corruption can impact food availability through distortions and inefficiencies in the uses of natural resources, as well as bottlenecks and inefficiencies in food distribution,” the report said.

The report, which was commissioned by DuPont -- a developer of genetically modified crops, was developed by the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) to consider the underlying drivers of food security among some 105 countries worldwide.

Ghana attained a cumulative score of 45.4% out of a possible 100. Among the indicators, it scored full marks for the elimination of undernourishment, and also did exceptionally well in “Food Safety”, “Intensity of Food Deprivation”, and “Volatility of Agricultural Production” indicators.

Meanwhile, the country ranked low on public expenditure on Agricultural Research and Development; hitting 12.5 out of a total score of 100. Indicators measuring Protein Quality and Diet Diversification also earned low scores, of 19.7 and 24.6 respectively.

DuPont Pioneer’s President, Paul E. Shickler, said: “Addressing food security is fruitless without measurement tools and global benchmarks, together with a continued commitment; but most importantly, Action.

“Since we commissioned the first Global Food Security Index last year, Governments, NGOs and academics have used the Index as a roadmap to identify critical food security issues and make better informed decisions, develop collaborative partnerships and create effective local policies to address country-specific needs,” Mr. Shickler added.

Sub-Saharan African countries including Ethiopia, Senegal and Botswana made significant progress --rising an average of nine places in the Index with improvements attributed to rising incomes and greater access to farmer financing, along with heightened emphasis on quality food and nutrition.

The growth in developing nations contrasts a fall in developed European economies, in particular Greece, since it regressed as a result of financial collapse and lower gross domestic product.

Rather than measure food security in black and white terms, the 2013 Index tracks 27 diverse factors that may explicitly or implicitly affect access to safe, nutritious and affordable food. New this year, the Index points to political conflicts in Mali, Yemen and Syria as significant contributors to food insecurity in the regions.

With regard to urbanisation, emerging markets appear best-positioned to respond to the long-term trend and implications for food security. Sierra Leone was the top-ranked country in this new indicator, primarily as a result of its strong urban farming which has been crucial in supporting the country’s nutritional needs.