Effect of social protection programmes on household food security: a case of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme in the Tolon District of Ghana

Cash transfer programmes such as Ghana’s Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) have been identified as a strategy for poverty reduction among poor households. The LEAP programme is focussed on addressing the health, education, and consumption needs of households. As a departure from existing evaluative studies on the LEAP programme, this study assessed the impact of the LEAP as a social protection programme on household food security in the Tolon District of the Northern Region. A multistage sampling technique was employed to randomly select 400 participants and non-participants in the Tolon District. Food security indicators were computed using consumption expenditure on food (Adult equivalent), Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS), and Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). An Endogenous Switching Regression (ESR) model was used to estimate the effects of participation in the LEAP programme on household food security. Findings reveal that participation in the LEAP programme has a positive impact on beneficiaries. The findings show percentage changes in consumption expenditure, HDDS, and a decrease in household food insecurity by 8%, 36%, and 59% respectively. Thus, it is recommended that the Government should extend the programme to cover more poor households.