Migration Status of Households and Food Security in Northern Ghana

Abstract

Household food insecurity is a pressing issue in Ghana, with many individuals turning to migration as a potential solution. However, in cases where migration fails to yield the expected benefits, migrants often encounter heightened food insecurity, particularly in northern Ghana. Existing reports and research highlight the significant prevalence of food insecurity in this region. This study aims to investigate the relationship between migration status and food security in northern Ghana and to provide policy recommendations to enhance food security in the area. The study runs univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses using the dataset from Ghana Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis (2020). The total number of respondents was 1,259,300. The univariate results include frequencies, percentages, and the use of tables to present the results. The bivariate analysis employed crosstabs and chi-square tests to assess whether there were differences between the observed and expected data. At the multivariate level, a multinomial logistic regression model was used to illustrate the relationships between the primary independent variable and the various dependent variables. The study reveals that 83.7% of respondents were non-migrants, while 16.3% were migrants. A significant proportion, nearly 72%, were classified as food secure, though 17% experienced moderate food insecurity and 11% were severely food insecure. Key demographic insights include that 86.4% of household heads were male, and most were married (90%). Educational attainment was low, with 63% having never attended school, and 44.6% of households had 4 to 6 members. Regionally, the Northern Region had the highest percentage of food-secure households, while the Upper East Region saw a higher prevalence of food insecurity. The analysis also indicated that non-migrant households were more food secure compared to migrant households, and significant associations were found between food security and factors such as age, education level, marital status, occupation, household size, and wealth status. Multivariate regression confirmed that nonmigrants were more likely to be food secure, and factors like educational attainmentandwealthwerestronglyassociatedwithfoodsecurityoutcomes.Conclusively, the findingsunderscore the relationshipbetweenmigrationstatus andvarious socio-demographic factorsindeterminingfoodsecurityoutcomesinthisregion.