A six-day workshop on rural to urban food sovereignty has begun in Tamale, the Northern Region's capital, to develop strategies and pathways for scholars to assist activism and outreach initiatives for food sovereignty across Sub-Saharan Africa.

It would also find out how food sovereignty, social movements, and civil society are developing in Ghana and their key opportunities, constraints and needs are.

The insights would help to examine agri-food policy and planning, as well as contribute to public discussion and advocacy on regulating food in ways that increase its quality and accessibility.

The workshop, which began with short lectures from selected academics on the first two days, would continue to showcase Tamale's agri-food markets, Ghana Food Movement's Catering experience led by Chef Abiro, and outreach presentations by community organizations for diverse Tamale food system actors and policymakers.

There would also be a traditional food bazaar organized by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture's (MoFA) Women in Agricultural Development unit, as well as a youth exhibit of agri-food innovations from VETCO Agric College, the Walewale Centre for Agroecology, among other farmers.

Community organizations such as Ghana Food Movement, Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organizational Development, Food Sovereignty Ghana, and Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana will also make presentations.

According to Dr. Siera Vercillo of the University of Waterloo, who is coordinating and organizing the workshop, food access is unequally distributed within liberalized local systems, and how and why diets are transitioning to potentially lower quality food, including in culturally inappropriate forms, needs to be clarified.

Ghana's food system is mostly informal and is still in the early phases of reform. The country is attracting international food firms as a result of increased urbanization and rising demand for processed meals.

According to Dr. Vercillo, defining how and why various consumers engage with urban food systems is topical due to policy concerns about the growing popularity of processed food.