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Sustainability
Volume 11
Issue 10
10.3390/su11102885
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Article

Identifying Biomass-Based Value Webs for Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systems Modeling Approach

by
Carl C. Anderson
1,2,*,
Manfred Denich
1,
Kai Neumann
3,
Kwadwo Amankwah
4 and
Charles Tortoe
5
1
Center for Development Research (ZEF), D-53115 Bonn, Germany
2
School of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Glasgow, Dumfries, Scotland DG1 4ZL, UK
3
Consideo GmbH, D-23562 Lübeck, Germany
4
Faculty of Agriculture, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana
5
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Food Research Institute, P. O. Box M20 Accra, Ghana
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2019, 11(10), 2885; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11102885
Received: 8 September 2018 / Revised: 10 May 2019 / Accepted: 20 May 2019 / Published: 21 May 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Food and Non-Food Biomass Production, Processing and Use in Sub-Saharan Africa: Towards a Basis for a Regional Bioeconomy)
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Abstract

Food security in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is dependent on complex networks of interconnected actors and the flows of resources (biomass, capital) and information among them. However, the degree to which actors and value chains of different crops are in fact interconnected and their current systemic influence on food security are unclear. Therefore, the concept of “value webs” to better capture the complexity within the networks emerges. Biomass-based value webs of selected crops in Ghana, Nigeria, and Ethiopia are modeled using the systems analysis software iMODELER and by eliciting factors as well as their interconnections through participatory stakeholder workshops. Furthermore, a generic model was created compiling the country models to identify overarching system dynamics with supporting and hindering factors impacting food security in SSA. Findings from the country models show highly complex value webs, suggesting that the predominant value chain approach may oversimplify actual structures and resource flows in real life settings. However, few interconnections within the value webs link the actors and flows of different crops, contradicting predictions emerging from other research. Results from the generic model allow for a critical reflection on the relation between value web dynamics and food security policy in SSA. Current national and regional policy trends targeting market integration, mechanization, and reduction of post-harvest losses are supported by model results. View Full-Text
Keywords: availability; access; Ghana; Nigeria; Ethiopia; value chain availability; access; Ghana; Nigeria; Ethiopia; value chain
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MDPI and ACS Style

Anderson, C.C.; Denich, M.; Neumann, K.; Amankwah, K.; Tortoe, C. Identifying Biomass-Based Value Webs for Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systems Modeling Approach. Sustainability 2019, 11, 2885. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11102885

AMA Style

Anderson CC, Denich M, Neumann K, Amankwah K, Tortoe C. Identifying Biomass-Based Value Webs for Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systems Modeling Approach. Sustainability. 2019; 11(10):2885. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11102885

Chicago/Turabian Style

Anderson, Carl C., Manfred Denich, Kai Neumann, Kwadwo Amankwah, and Charles Tortoe. 2019. "Identifying Biomass-Based Value Webs for Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systems Modeling Approach" Sustainability 11, no. 10: 2885. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11102885

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