Eleventh International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

Small-scale mining has far-reaching ecological and socio-economic footprints beyond their immediate operational areas. Their operations come into direct conflict with smallholder crop farming as far as access to key resources (land, labour, and water) are concerned. This conflict is magnified by the unequal power relations among the key actors within the two subsectors resulting in myriad trade-offs and tensions. The implications of this conflict on the four dimensions (dimensions (availability, access, utilisation, and stability) of food security are not fully known. In this paper, we seek to bridge this knowledge gap. Our research was guided by a novel blend of the political ecology and the capability approach as a conceptual framework. We adopted a multiplicity of methods including geospatial, quantitative, and qualitative approaches using Ghana as a case study. Our study draws on survey data obtained from 460 individuals selected from households through a multi-stage sampling approach. This dataset was supplemented with data obtained through key informant interviews, focus group discussions and secondary statistics, The study shows that mining restrains local food availability and contributes to increasing moderate or severe (50.1%) and severe (13.3%) food insecurity prevalence rates. Also, 79% of women of reproductive age who participated in the study were unable to meet the minimum dietary diversity requirements, an indicator that reflects their micronutrient adequacy and consequently their quality of food. Based on these findings, we argue that mining is a major driver to food insecurity and consequently the poor well-being of a considerable number of individuals, especially women.