Presentations of two guest researchers from Ghana on improving household resilience to food demand shocks & exploring employee perspectives about well-being initiative activities during COVID 19
November 2, 2023 | 10:00 h - 12:00 h
Join us online for presentations of two guest researchers from Ghana of the Division of Political and Cultural Change
https://uni-bonn.zoom-x.de/j/64599207323?pwd=ZXBybm5jUWxaVlVUUWcyVGJlNjJGQT09
Meeting-ID: 645 9920 7323
Code: 413561
Presentation 1:
Topic: Simulating policy options for improving household resilience to food demand shocks in the context of West Africa
Speaker: Dr. Isaac GK Ansah, senior lecturer in agricultural and applied economics at the University for Development Studies (UDS) in Tamale, Ghana
Abstract
A major challenge confronting poor and vulnerable households in developing countries is how to safeguard their food security in the midst of multiple shocks such as those caused by covid-19 and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. While scientists have predicted that such shocks might lead to the adoption of negative coping strategies (e.g., sacrificing costly nutrient-rich foods for cheap, less nutritious ones), it is less clear the role resilience capacity plays in these dynamics. Do households with better resilience capacities behave differently from the norm? How would policies that increase poor households’ resilience capacities affect demand for different items in the food consumption basket? In this paper, we use a nationally representative data from Ghana and micro-econometric simulation methods to assess how different resilience-enhancing policies would affect shocks’ impacts on food demand of various household types. Our findings meet prior expectations and quite revealing – different policies tend to affect the sensitivity of different food items to price and income shocks differently. Thus, a general food policy may not be the best option to improve food security of the poor.
Dr. Isaac GK Ansah is a senior lecturer in agricultural and applied economics at the University for Development Studies (UDS) in Tamale, Ghana. He is affiliated to the West African Center for Sustainable Rural Transformation (WAC-SRT) located at Nyankpala Campus, UDS. He had both his master (Management, Economics and Consumer Sciences) and PhD (Economics and Policy) education at Wageningen University and Research (WUR) in the Netherlands. Isaac has been working on food systems, food security and resilience among vulnerable households over the last 5 years and hopes to develop this further.
Presentation 2:
Topic: Exploring employee perspectives about well-being initiative activities by organisations in Ghana during the Covid 19 pandemic
Speaker: Dr. Doreen Anyamesem Odame, lecturer at the Ghana Communication Technology University (GCTU).
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a drastic change in the workplace, with unprecedented challenges to employers and employees alike. This qualitative study explored the perspectives of employees about initiatives that Ghanaian organisations took to promote employee well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using snowball sampling to gather information from a sample of seventy participants, in-depth interviews were carried out to ascertain perspectives and experiences that employees had with organisational initiatives during the Covid-19 period. The results showed a mixed outcome, with some workers commending their companies' efforts in ensuring employee wellbeing through flexible work arrangements, mental health support and other well-being measures. However, some challenges were mentioned, such as lack of communication from management throughout Covid period. While many businesses took proactive measures to ensure the comprehensive well-being of employees under unprecedented circumstances, the research highlights the need for a nuanced knowledge of well-being strategies during crises and argues that there is still potential for development in this area.
Dr. Doreen Anyamesem Odame is a Lecturer at the Ghana Communication Technology University (GCTU). Her research interests focus on public sector and entrepreneurial activities in Africa, and the intersection between social policy/intervention and the lives of the vulnerable. Over the last 10 years she has conducted research specifically in areas of entrepreneurship, health financing, maternal health, inequalities in access to health and education and gender inequalities. She is particularly passionate about finding sustainable ways to address the needs of the poor and vulnerable in society. Doreen brings an interdisciplinary perspective to research and analysis. Doreen has published in prestigious journals like the International Journal of Social Economics, Journal of International Development and has a co-authored book titled "Social Media and Africa’s Public Sector: Perspectives on Contemporary Issues” published by Springer in 2023.
