Political Economy of Food Insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa: Structural Barriers and Empirical Insights from Ghana

This study examined the economic and political governance dynamics of food insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with a focus on Ghana. The study problematised the political and economic governance power structure, as well as the effects of agricultural development policies and their implementation on food insecurity in Ghana. Employing an exploratory case study design, the study drew on both field and textual data from primary and secondary data sources. Drawing on textural and content analysis, the results established that politics and economic governance power in Ghana often determine access to state resources in terms of food security, under certain conditions in the country. Also, the results established that there is a political economy of agricultural development and food production policy inconsistencies and implementation gaps contributing to the political economy of food insecurity that has bedevilled the country. The key conclusion from the findings is that policy-driven accountability measures for the political economy of food security are desperately needed. Besides, the government of Ghana should meet the need to generate and diversify livelihoods, particularly in the innovative food production value chain in the country. Therefore, for food security, there is a need for pragmatism in the political and economic governance power structure balance, to emphasize the full participation of all in the political economy of the agricultural development agenda and food production possibilities frontier in the country. Keywords: Economics, Politics, Food, Government, Policy, Insecurity, Sub-Saharan Africa, Ghana