Explaining success in reducing under-nourishment numbers in Ghana
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The FAO Food Security measure shows that the number of under-nourished Ghanaians has fallen from 64 to 12 percent between 1979-1981 and 1998-2000. Since income distribution is assumed to have remained constant the change is due entirely to increased food availability. The paper shows that most of the increase in the DES was explained by an expansion in maize, cassava, yam and plantain production. The production increase is mostly due to acreage expansion which in turn can be attributed to the i mproved economic environment and market access for farmers. Improved varieties did help raise yields for maize and cassava quite substantially and helped raise output, particularly in the 1990s. Much of the reduction in under-nourishment was driven by increased cassava production and we note that a break in the series in 1991 throws some doubt on the usefulness of using the data to draw comparison between 1979-1981 and 1998-2000.