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The continuous increase in the population remains a challenge as the demand for food also increases at a greater pace than food production. This study sought to examine the determinants of food security in Ghana using the Ghana Living Standard Survey round seven (GLSS 7) data. Households' food security was measured using a food consumption score (FCS). A partial proportional odds model (PPO) was employed to analyse the drivers of household food security in Ghana. The results showed that being a male household head, engaging in farming, and leaving in rural areas decrease the household's chances of falling into poor and borderline food consumption poverty. The study, therefore, concluded that households in Ghana may be food-consumption-poor due to factors such as low level of education, employment status, and the location of the household, that is being in a rural area. Policies that provide employment and bridge the rural-urban divide, increasing access to education, particularly, nutrition education will enhance household food security status.

Research background: The threat from climate change remains a major concern especially for developing economies like Ghana. Hence, agricultural practices that are environmentally friendly and improves soil health are very necessary for building resilience. Purpose of the article: The present study investigated the determinants of conservation agricultural practices in northern Ghana as well as the effect of these practices on soil health for sustainable production. Methods: Using cross-sectional data collected by the International food policy research institute from 1284 households, a multivariate probit model was first performed to identify the determinants of conservation agricultural practices while the inverse probability weighted regression adjustment was employed to establish the effect of conservation agricultural practices on soil health. Findings & value added: Results from the multivariate probit model showed that socioeconomic and institutional factors as well as different household-specific factors, influence farmer’s decisions to engage in various conservation agricultural practices. Crop rotation, fallowing, contour ploughing or pit planting and manure application were found to have a positive effect on soil health through improved resilience to soil erosion. The study concludes that conservation agricultural practices will be useful in Ghana’s quest of achieving zero hunger since the conservation agricultural practices ensure that food is produced for the present generations without compromising the soil health for further productions. Hence, the current Ghanaian government’s flagship programme dubbed ‘planting for food and jobs’ should include conservation agriculture as a priority module in its framework so that households could both increase their output while maintaining the quality of the soil.

Improved rice production techniques are being promoted in Ghana as a way of enhancing sustainable productivity among farmers. Despite the important role that the adoption of improved rice production technologies plays in improving output, very few studies, especially in the context of Northern Ghana, have been conducted to analyse the factors influencing their intensive adoption. In this study, we compared the results of negative binomial, Poisson and zero inflated Poisson (ZIP) models to analyse the determinants of intensity of adoption of improved rice production techniques, using primary data collected from 543 rice farmers in the Upper East and Northern regions of Ghana. Based on model diagnostics, we accept the results of the ZIP model. The empirical results confirm the relevance of technology demonstration fields, farmers’ experience, training, and sex of the farmer in enhancing and sustaining the adoption of improved agricultural technologies. Household extension method, research and extension, and farm size should also be considered in promoting the adoption of improved practices among rice farmers since these covariates had significant relationship with the intensity of adopting improved agricultural technologies.