Table 3 Selected national food and agricultural policies in Ghana
Policy | Year | Goal(s)/objectives | Key considerations to FAO recommendations | Policy challenges |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Food and Agriculture Sector Development Policy II (FASDPE II) | 2007 | Food security and emergency preparedness Improved growth in incomes Increased competitiveness and enhanced integration into domestic and international markets Sustainable management of land and environment Science and Technology Applied in food and agriculture development Improved Institutional Coordination Security and emergency | Included a strategy for improving food security through enhancing nutrition through coordination of prog Includes strategies to improve infrastructure and access to markets | Product diversification was mentioned with intentions to increase market competitiveness rather than to improve nutrition outcomes |
Regenerative Health and Nutrition Programme (RHNP) | 2007 | Promote healthy lifestyles including eating more fruits and vegetables, reducing consumption of fatty foods and alcohol, and increasing physical activities | Contains priority interventions to improve nutrition outcomes Focus on partnership building with various ministries including the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to promote activities such as introducing new food varieties to communities and farmers | Focus is on individual-level strategies for behavior and attitude change Minimal attention on the role of the agriculture sector in increasing food and vegetable consumption |
Medium Term Agricultural Sector Investment Plan (METSASID II) | 2015 | To accelerate the modernization of agriculture and ensure effective natural resources management and environmental governance regime Sustainable Natural Resource Management will transform the agricultural sector to increase productivity and output, create jobs, increase incomes, and ensure food security over the medium term | Agricultural competitiveness and integration into the domestic and international market Crop development and diversification Contains nutrition-sensitive agriculture as a sub-program to mainstream nutrition into agricultural policies Includes focus to enhance nutrition education to promote consumption of micronutrient-rich food | Lacks initiatives to improve women’s empowerment Roles of collaborating partners are not made clear |
National Nutrition Policy (NNP) | 2013 | The goal of the NNP is to ensure optimal nutrition for all people living in Ghana throughout their lifecycle To increase coverage of high-impact nutrition-specific interventions that ensure optimal nutrition of Ghanaians throughout their lifecycle, with special reference to maternal health and child survival To ensure high coverage of nutrition-sensitive interventions to address the underlying causes of malnutrition To reposition nutrition as a priority multi-sectoral development issue in Ghana | Contains nutrition-related objectives and focus areas including the prevention of nutrition disorders in vulnerable groups Focus on effective intersectoral partnership and coordination to address nutrition issues Focus on integrating nutrition into agriculture programs and increasing diversified food crops Promotion of practices to ensure availability, access, diversity and proper storage of foods | Mentions the need for efforts to improve women’s social status in all aspects of nutrition, but lacks details on how this will be achieved Lacks initiative to improve nutrition education among community members |