Editor's Note [Volume 22 No. 2 (2022)]

Food-based Dietary Guidelines

We are ready to publish a SPECIAL issue on Ghana.

The theme is food-based dietary guidelines in the Ghanaian context. I recall being invited to help develop FBDGs by the Food and Agriculture Organization during the time of Prof John Lupien as Director of the Food and Nutrition Division (FAO).

This was way back in the '80s. From the time they were developed, FBDGs formed the core of FAO's work on food and nutrition worldwide. So, why are food-based dietary guidelines important? First, they are easily accepted by consumers because they are locally contextualized. They deal with foods that people are familiar with. They deal with local diets, which to a large extent are affordable, easily accessible, diverse, and liked. It was during the preparation of the FBDGs that nutrition and dietary diversity started to be appreciated.

Where else do nutrients come from, but food? Such food needs to be culturally acceptable, affordable, and easy to access. As we have been confined during Covid-19 (the pandemic), for more than 2 years now, we have come to appreciate our local foods as imports have been largely restricted. We have been happy to carry this special issue on Ghana. Foods are unique to a people and make cultural exchanges very interesting.

As I move on in life, I see that each time we try to move forward in trying to solve world hunger, something comes along that takes people back. Even before the pandemic emerged, climate variability was already causing havoc with farmers. Farmers do not know when to plant, how to plant, and what to plant. What is the reason here? New technologies are difficult for smallholder farmers. These technologies are not easy to access. Smallholder farmers work best in groups and cooperatives. These kinds of gatherings have been affected by the pandemic, leaving smallholder farmers to operate individually. Where they were able to do joint inputs sourcing, collective marketing, and group trainings, it just has not been possible. Where they shared a smartphone, they cannot do so. As a result, we find many farmers unable to do anything at planting time. They may have the land, but it stays uncultivated for lack of extension support and incentives.

We now see more and more people, including widows and widowers becoming desperate, going hungry, yet they have land. They will tell you they have no one to cultivate for them and where grandchildren could help, they are going to school; then, when it comes to inputs, those they cannot afford. When it comes to information, they cannot afford digital connection costs, and public extension workers no longer exist.

They ask why my NGO no longer organizes field days for them to learn from.

We need cheap sourcing of foods, local foods. But more than that, human help is required to care for the elderly and other vulnerable citizens. Food is more than just a plate of plain starch. The meal could be once a day but consist of a good mix of foods to provide nutrition and in good quantity. Supplements, appropriately recommended, are also necessary and family members should be encouraged to play their role.

We value Dr. Richmond Aryeetey of the University of Ghana, Legon, for managing this whole process on behalf of the various authors who have contributed to this issue. We also acknowledge the support of all those who assisted with the review process and especially Prof. Richard Douglass, an Emeritus of Eastern Michigan University, who willingly supported because Dr. Richmond had been his student: connections matter.

Ruth Oniang'o
Editor-in-Chief, AJFAND