A review of Ghana’s food system and its implications on sustainability and the development of national food-based dietary guidelines

Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDG) provide culturally-appropriate and actionable recommendations based on which populations can make healthy food choices. Food systems sustainability, from production to consumption, and disposal of food and food-related items, should be a critical consideration for developing such guidelines. This rapid review assesses Ghana's food systems to determine the level of sustainability to inform the FBDG recommendations. Peer-reviewed articles, documents and reports of relevance to Ghana were included in this rapid review. A hundred and eight papers, answering different questions on food system sustainability were reviewed. Bread, cereals, fish and indigenous vegetables are the most frequently consumed food groups. Sugar-Sweetened Beverages are the most consumed imported foods. In rural areas, 53% of dietary protein comes from plant sources. Fish is the main the source of animal protein for most Ghanaian households. There is intensive exploitation of marine and fresh water resources. Most livestock are raised by smallholder farmers using free-range system. Poultry is frequently kept on deep litter system and only a few are large-scale. Crop production for household consumption and small-scale animal rearing are predominant, especially in Northern Ghana. By weight, fruits and vegetables are the least cultivated and consumed crops at the household level. Wood is the commonest source of fuel for cooking, especially in rural areas. Single use plastic is the most used and preferred material for food packaging. Indiscriminate and poor management of waste and pesticide misuse is commonly reported. The findings suggest the need for promoting production diversification, use of clean fuel and reusable food packaging as part of FBDGs to enhance sustainability of Ghana’s food systems.