Ghana targets nutrition security through plant-based food systems

Ghana is seeking to strengthen nutrition security, climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods through the development of a National Plant-Based Food Systems Plan.

Mr Seidu Issifu, the Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability, said the plan would provide a framework for improving local food production, promoting dietary diversity and integrating climate action into the country’s food systems.

The Minister was speaking at a validation workshop on Ghana’s Draft National Plant-Based Food Systems Plan in Accra, where stakeholders reviewed the document to ensure that it reflected national priorities and provided a practical foundation for implementation.

Mr Issifu said Ghana’s food systems were central to economic development, employment, public health and social wellbeing, with agriculture sustaining millions of livelihoods and remaining fundamental to the country’s development ambitions.

However, he said the sector faced increasing threats from climate-related shocks, including erratic rainfall, droughts, floods, declining soil quality and other environmental pressures that threatened agricultural productivity, food availability, household incomes and rural economies.

He said the challenges were compounded by dependence on selected food imports, pressure on land and water resources, environmental degradation and the need to improve nutrition outcomes.

“These concerns require an integrated and forward-looking approach that connects agricultural production with climate action, nutrition, trade, public health, investment and environmental sustainability,” he added.

Mr. Seidu emphasised that the proposed plan was not intended to impose dietary choices on Ghanaians but to expand opportunities, strengthen agricultural diversity and make better use of the country’s natural and agricultural resources.

Ghana, he said, had a rich agricultural heritage, with a wide variety of indigenous and locally cultivated crops, legumes, fruits, vegetables, roots and tubers that could support domestic food production, improve dietary diversity and create economic opportunities for farmers and food-system enterprises.

The Minister said promoting more plant-rich food production and consumption, guided by scientific evidence, local realities and traditional food culture, could contribute to climate resilience, nutrition security and sustainable livelihoods.

Such an approach could also create markets for local producers, support agro-processing and reduce vulnerabilities associated with excessive dependence on imported food products.

Mr Issifu said the draft plan was an important step towards transforming Ghana’s food systems, but its success would depend on the quality of the validation process and the extent to which stakeholders could translate its objectives into practical interventions.

He urged participants to ensure that the final document aligned with Ghana’s development priorities, was practical and implementable, reflected local circumstances and provided a credible basis for investment, monitoring and accountability.

He said the plan must clearly identify priorities, outline practical interventions, establish institutional responsibilities and provide a credible implementation pathway.

Mr Issifu further stressed the need for the experiences of smallholder farmers, women, young people, local communities and food-system enterprises to inform the process, noting that proposed interventions must reflect Ghana’s agricultural conditions, cultural practices, market realities and nutritional needs.

He called for stronger collaboration among government institutions, farmer organisations, academia, research institutions, the private sector and development partners to ensure effective implementation.

Government institutions, he said, must provide policy direction and coordination, while farmers and their organisations should help ensure that proposed interventions addressed challenges on the ground, adding that research institutions and academia had a responsibility to contribute evidence and innovation, while the private sector could help develop viable markets and value chains.

Mr Issifu said his Office recognised food systems as an important avenue for integrating climate mitigation and adaptation with economic transformation, public health, environmental protection and livelihood development.

He urged stakeholders to be constructive and candid in their deliberations, identifying gaps, clarifying priorities and recommending improvements where further evidence, institutional clarification or financial analysis was required.

“Validation is not merely a procedural step before publication. It is an opportunity to strengthen the substance of the plan, resolve gaps, clarify priorities and build the shared ownership necessary for successful implementation,” he stressed.