Somanya: The University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD) in Somanya, Eastern Region, has held its 5th Sustainable Development Conference with a call for urgent action to safeguard food security and protect the environment.
According to Ghana News Agency, the annual event, themed ‘Environmental Management and Food Security: Threats and Opportunities for Developing Economies,’ brought together academics, policymakers, think tanks, directors, and students to deliberate on strategies for feeding a growing global population without destroying ecosystems. Speaking at the event, UESD Vice-Chancellor, Professor Eric Nyarko-Sampson, emphasized the importance of effective environmental management and reducing the impact of human activities on land, forests, rivers, and the atmosphere for both food security and human survival.
Quoting the 1996 World Food Summit, Professor Nyarko-Sampson explained that food security meant ensuring all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to safe, sufficient, and nutritious food. However, with the global population at about 8.2 billion, he noted that achieving this goal was becoming increasingly difficult. He highlighted that food price inflation had outpaced overall inflation in 97 countries, with more than 25 million people in Sudan and 27.7 million in the Democratic Republic of Congo facing acute food insecurity. In Ghana, about two million people were acutely food insecure between June and August 2025, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Professor Nyarko-Sampson warned of the vicious cycle where climate change, illegal mining, unsustainable land practices, deforestation, and pollution exacerbate food insecurity, which in turn fuels further harmful practices. He stressed, ‘We cannot afford to delay. Protecting the environment is not optional; it is the foundation of food security, livelihoods, and national survival.’
Dr. Seth Appiah-Kubi, Country Director of A Rocha Ghana, delivered a speech describing the theme as ‘critical and relevant’ to Ghana’s socio-economic development. He stressed that true sustainable development required balancing economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection without compromising the needs of future generations. Dr. Appiah-Kubi identified illegal artisanal mining, or galamsey, as a major threat to food security, revealing that about 20,000 hectares of cocoa farms had been lost to galamsey in 2020, with the figure growing since.
He noted the impact of toxic heavy metals such as mercury, lead, and arsenic seeping into soils and rivers, posing food safety risks and reducing crop productivity. Rivers vital for irrigation and domestic use have become heavily polluted, forcing water treatment plants to incur higher costs and straining farming livelihoods. ‘Galamsey erodes the very foundations of food production; land, water, labour, and ecological stability,’ he cautioned.
Other speakers, including Dr. Theodora Akweley Asiamah of UESD’s Department of Sustainable Development and Policy, emphasized the need for collaboration among government, academia, civil society, and local communities. They called for strict enforcement of environmental regulations, increased investment in agroecology, and the adoption of innovative policies that safeguard both ecosystems and food systems.