Diverse paths to food security and resilience: identifying optimal enterprise combinations among smallholders in northern Ghana

Ansah, I.G.K.; Kotu, B.H.; Manda, J.

Diverse paths to food security and resilience: identifying optimal enterprise combinations among smallholders in northern Ghana

Autores

Ansah, I.G.K.

Kotu, B.H.

Manda, J.

Descripción

Smallholder farmers struggle to optimize agricultural enterprise portfolios for food security and resilience, yet traditional approaches apply uniform solutions to heterogeneous farming systems and household capabilities. We identify pathways to enhanced food security and resilience through enterprise portfolio configurations, establish relationships between configurations and livelihood outcomes, and examine factors influencing optimal strategy adoption. We combine Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) with Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and logistic regression using smallholder households’ data from northern Ghana, examining crop, livestock, and non-farm enterprise combinations across three livelihood outcomes: Food Consumption Score (FCS), Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS), and Resilience Capacity Index (RCI). QCA analysis identifies multiple pathways to improved outcomes. PSM analysis identifies different optimal combinations: Non-staples × Ruminants for FCS, Staples × Non-farm × Ruminants for HDDS, and Non-staples × Non-farm × Poultry for RCI, with significant treatment effects signifying superior performance. Regression analyses reveal distinct capability requirements. Resource endowments increase adoption probability by 21.5 percentage points for FCS and 20.6 percentage points for HDDS portfolios, but a nonsignificant effect on RCI. Market access decreases FCS portfolio adoption by 46.5 percentage points while increasing RCI by 14.2 percentage points. Risk management capacity shows negative effects on FCS (-4.1 percentage points) but positive effects on HDDS and RCI. Results challenge one-size-fits-all approaches, showing multiple pathways to livelihood optimization. Resource-constrained farmers can access optimal livelihood strategies through market-integrated resilience pathways, while resource-endowed farmers can pursue locally oriented or market-integrated approaches. Programs should prioritize differentiated household-level capability building over institutional access expansion.