Advancing Agriculture in Guinea: Addressing Public Health Issues Related to Food Insecurity 

Supervised  By: Mindi Schneider, Ph.D. (she/her), Lecturer in Environment and Society, Brown University

• Project Background and Research Questions

Food insecurity seems to be among the greatest burdens in Guinea. In this project, I want to investigate the following questions: What are the country's historical and current causes of food insecurity? How much does domestic agricultural production contribute to food security, compared to agricultural imports? What are the current leading agricultural practices and scales of agriculture in Guinea? What type and how much international food assistance has the country received now and in the past? How is the Guinean government dealing with food insecurity? In answering these questions I will explore what methods and strategies to combat food insecurity have been successful in West Africa and in the world more broadly that might be inspirational for Guinea.

• Objectives 

Through this research, I aim to explore the causes and consequences of food insecurity in Guinea through a combination of desk and field research with a disciplinary focus on public health to better improve this public health issue in the country and the region. Reflecting food insecurity on the health of the population.  I would eventually extend the research to the West African region. 

• Methodology

  The methods I plan to use include:

  1- Desk research ( Summer 2023):

  1. Searching and collecting available data on food insecurity in Guinea from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and national or regional governmental and non-governmental reports.
  2. Searching and collecting available data related to agricultural imports, exports, and debts in Guinea
  3. Searching and reviewing literature about the history of food, agriculture, and agrarian change in Guinea.

  2- Field Research( Summer 2024_Trip to Guinea) : 

  1. Traveling to Guinea, witnessing and observing the impact of food insecurity in Conakry(capital),   N’zerekore and Dalaba.
  2.  Visiting the Ministry of Agriculture to collect more practical data and information through interviews with the Agricultural Minister and officials within the Department. 
  3. Meeting with local farmers to find out the issues they are experiencing as both farmers and consumers.
  4.  Interviewing non-farmers to learn how often per day they can afford to have a meal. 
  5. Initiating a meeting with non-governmental organizations and entrepreneurs that work in this domain, to listen to their approaches, ideas, and struggles.