| Sumario: | Agroecology offers a sustainable food system approach for the resilience of smallholder food
security. Global coinciding shocks such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukraine
conflict coupled with economic downturns in developing countries affected agricultural inputs
and food prices. Also, climate shocks continue to affect the resilience of smallholder food
security. Against this backdrop, the study sought to examine how adoption of agroecological
practices moderate the impact of price and climate shocks on the resilience of smallholder food
security. To achieve this broad objective, different analytical approaches were adopted. First, a
systematic literature review was employed to assess the reported impact of agroecology in
fostering the resilience of smallholder food security. Second, econometric approaches were
employed to assess smallholder agroecological practices adoption behaviour to shocks as well
as the moderation role of agroecology on the shock-resilience nexus in northern Ghana. Finally,
the study simulated how projected changes in rainfall and temperature could affect the resilience of smallholder food security and the potential of agroecology to moderate the resulting impacts.
The results showed that flood, food and input price shocks significantly affect both initial and
consistent adoption of agroecological practices. Meanwhile, agroecology was found to
moderate the impact of flood, food and input price shocks. The simulation results also showed
that a policy aimed at promoting agroecology could help moderate extreme drought and heat
stress. The study concluded that agroecology should be promoted and upscaled in northern
Ghana as a mechanism for enhancing the resilience of smallholder food security to shocks.
Meanwhile the second phase of the Planting for Food and Jobs policy should include a
component of agroecology to help maximize its resilience and ecological synergistic benefits.
|