The continued reliance on traditional food measurement units in Ghana is creating challenges in accurately tracking food consumption patterns and understanding trends within the food market, a survey by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has revealed.
The findings, contained in three reports from the Non-Standard Units Survey (NSUS), conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, found that the widespread use of informal measures such as olonkas, bowls, cups, heaps, and bundles makes it difficult to consistently estimate the actual quantities of food purchased and consumed by households.
According to the report, the lack of uniformity in these measurement systems affects the quality of data collected on household food consumption, market transactions, and food price movements.
Accurate food consumption data is critical for policymakers, researchers, and development partners in designing interventions related to food security, nutrition, agriculture, and economic planning. However, variations in local measurement practices can make comparisons across regions and over time more challenging.
The Report also revealed wide regional variations in the weight of produce sold using the same local measurement units, highlighting the inconsistencies in Ghana’s informal food measurement system.
The survey further found that common size descriptions such as small, medium and large are poor indicators of actual weight. However, container-based units used for edible oils, including bottles and gallons, were found to be relatively more consistent across regions.
Similar disparities were recorded at the market level. A medium-sized margarine tin has a national average weight of 0.276 kilograms, but ranges from 0.228 kilograms in the Ahafo Region to 0.346 kilograms in the Ashanti Region.
Medium-sized yams also varied significantly, weighing between 1.301 kilograms in the Ashanti Region and 2.042 kilograms in the Volta Region.
According to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), the newly developed conversion factors will improve the accuracy and comparability of agricultural production, trade, household consumption, food security statistics, and key macroeconomic indicators such as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Consumer Price Index (CPI).
The Service says the development of a national food measurement database will help address these gaps by documenting commonly used local units and establishing standard conversion values.
The database is expected to improve the reliability of national statistics, enhance food price monitoring, and provide a stronger evidence base for decisions affecting Ghana’s food sector.
The GSS believes the initiative will help align traditional market practices with modern statistical requirements while ensuring that local measurement systems are better understood and accurately captured.
