ABSTRACT
The literature on food security rarely addresses how different models of agricultural commercialization affect food cultures. Thus food security is rarely discussed in all its four dimensions of availability, accessibility, utilization, and stability. We contribute to addressing this question by drawing on qualitative research conducted in four districts of Ghana in February 2016. The study found that commercialization did not guarantee food security and was in some cases even implicated in food shortages, to which some responded by shifting from preferred local staples to other foods, or items of lower social value. Commercialization and changing food cultures played a role in the introduction of ‘new’ foods such as polished rice, soybean, and instant noodles into the diets of smallholder farmers and their households. Crucially, in both northern and southern Ghana, household food provisioning was determined by a sexual division of labour which assigned greater value to men’s roles while undervaluing the responsibilities performed by women. These aspects of food culture provided the basis for privileging men’s energy and nutrition needs while marginalizing those of women and children. Our findings highlight the interaction of gender, generation, and agro-ecology in food security outcomes.
