The United Nations has sounded the alarm over serious weaknesses in Ghana’s food production system, revealing troubling conditions that threaten both the health and economic security of millions across the country.
Speaking at the 45th World Food Day celebration in Accra on Thursday, UN Resident Coordinator Zia Choudhury painted a sobering picture of the hidden struggles behind Ghana’s meals, from fish smokers working in hazardous conditions to yam farmers losing money despite bumper harvests. His remarks came as Ghana joined the global community in marking World Food Day under the theme “Hand in Hand for Better Food and Better Future.”
Choudhury’s concerns stem from recent field visits that exposed harsh realities often overlooked in discussions about Ghana’s agricultural progress. During a trip to Tema, he encountered women who smoke fish for markets across the country, working for hours in thick smoke that causes respiratory illnesses, inflamed eyes, and chronic skin irritation. These workers supply the smoked fish that appears in markets from Nima to communities nationwide, yet their working conditions remain largely invisible to consumers.
The UN coordinator said he’d purchased smoked fish from Nima market that his children loved, but visiting the production site revealed a different story. The women preparing the fish endure punishing conditions with little recognition or support, reflecting broader patterns where informal food workers, especially women, sustain local markets while suffering serious health consequences.
Beyond processing challenges, Ghana’s farmers face their own crisis despite successful harvests. This year’s yam surplus has paradoxically hurt producers rather than helped them. Without adequate storage facilities or reliable transport systems, farmers can’t preserve their crops or move them efficiently to urban markets. Prices have collapsed as a result, leaving rural farmers struggling financially even as city residents enjoy cheap yams.
Experts estimate that Ghana loses up to 30 percent of its annual food production to post harvest waste, a staggering figure that undermines rural incomes and threatens food system resilience. Recent studies indicate that smallholder farmers experience losses ranging from 20 to 50 percent across different crops, with inadequate storage, poor road infrastructure, and lack of market access driving much of the waste.
The nutrition crisis proves equally alarming. Choudhury recounted meeting a girl in Savannah Northwest region who appeared to be eight years old but revealed she was actually 14. Her stunted growth reflects chronic malnutrition that affects roughly 17 percent of Ghanaian children, a figure that has improved significantly from 32.7 percent in 1993 but remains unacceptably high by international standards.
While Ghana has made commendable progress in reducing child malnutrition over three decades, the current rates still translate to hundreds of thousands of children facing nutritional deprivation that affects their physical development, cognitive abilities, and future earning potential. The problem hits hardest in northern regions, where poverty, limited healthcare access, and harsh climatic conditions create perfect conditions for widespread malnutrition.
Choudhury emphasized that access to nutritious food shouldn’t be treated as a privilege but recognized as a fundamental human right. He acknowledged Ghana’s efforts but stressed that existing programs haven’t reached enough vulnerable communities. The gap between agricultural production statistics and actual nutritional outcomes reveals systemic failures in how food moves from farms to families.
The UN coordinator called for urgent action across multiple fronts, from improving working conditions for food processors to building better storage infrastructure for farmers. He urged investments in sustainable food systems that prioritize people over profit while protecting Ghana’s natural resources for future generations.
Ghana currently spends over $3 billion annually importing food despite having fertile land, abundant water resources, and a large youth population, creating what Agriculture Minister Eric Opoku has described as a troubling paradox. If that money were redirected toward local production with proper support systems, it could create jobs and strengthen food security simultaneously.
The revelations come at a critical time for Ghana’s agricultural sector, which continues to grapple with the dual challenges of increasing production while ensuring that growth translates into better nutrition and livelihoods for rural communities. The government’s Feed Ghana Programme launched earlier this year aims to address some of these challenges through year round farming with irrigation, but implementation will prove crucial.
For Ghana to transform its food systems, experts say coordinated action is needed from government, private sector, development partners, and communities themselves. Without addressing the hidden crises that Choudhury highlighted, from hazardous working conditions to massive post harvest losses to persistent child malnutrition, Ghana’s agricultural progress risks remaining hollow for millions who should benefit most.
The UN has pledged continued partnership with Ghana to build more inclusive and sustainable food systems, but the coordinator’s frank assessment makes clear that much harder work lies ahead to ensure every Ghanaian can access safe, nutritious, and affordable food without others suffering to produce it.
Source: newsghana.com.gh
