1.0 Overview

The Ghana Non-Standard Units Conversion Factors (NSUs-CF) system is a web-based platform that provides standardised and verified average conversion factors for a wide range of Non-Standard Units (NSUs), commonly referred to as local units of measurement, used in Ghana at the household, market, and farmgate levels. These local units include olonka (American tin), tomato paste tins, koko bowls, blue rubber buckets, sacks, and similar containers.

The system enables the conversion of quantities reported in these local units into accurate and reliable standard units, primarily kilograms (kg), at both the national and the 16 regions. In addition, the NSUs-CF system provides average weights (kg) for major food groups and commodities. The lists are not exhaustive and are meant as a general guide. These are aligned with internationally recognised classifications, including the Central Product Classification (CPC Ver. 2.1) with the FAO expansion for agricultural statistics. This ensures that quantities reported using local measurement practices can be translated into accurate, comparable, and internationally consistent statistical measures, thereby supporting analysis of household consumption, agriculture output analysis at the market and farmgate reporting, and policy formulation.

While the system covers only the commonly used NSUs captured in the survey, there may be a few additional NSUs used by traders in some parts of the country that are not included.

2.0 Purpose / Why Use the NSUs-CF System

The NSUs-CF system:

1. Promotes consistency, accuracy, and reliability in analysing the standard of living and poverty patterns, among others, in monetary units to inform evidence-based policies.
2. Supports traders (retailers, wholesalers, and agribusiness investors) in budget planning and applying harmonized standard weights for agricultural produce and commodities.
3. Provides a scientific means of ensuring that quantities of produce sold in different units are transformed into a common unit.
4. Helps field officers, statisticians, researchers, analysts, and policymakers to make informed decisions about using standard units of measurement.

2.1 Key benefits include:

1. Reducing measurement bias arising from the use of diverse local units;
2. Improving the quality of data used for agricultural production estimates, market analysis, policy formulation, and monitoring and evaluation;
3. Strengthening evidence-based decision-making by ensuring that data derived from local measurement practices are standardised and comparable;
4. Improving user accessibility and usability;
5. Reducing errors and preventing wrong combinations of NSUs; and
6. vi. Saving time and reducing manual calculations and lookup errors.

3.0 Guidance for Use

Conversion factors for local units should be applied with caution. Unit sizes and container volumes may vary by region, filling practices, commodity type, and moisture content (e.g., maize or groundnut), all of which can significantly influence actual weights.

Additional considerations include:

• Conversion factors represent national and regional averages derived from estimations across households, markets, and farmgate transactions, and may not fully reflect local or transaction-specific conditions.
• Conversion factors exclude add-ons (locally referred to as ntosoɔ) and common market practices such as heaping containers.
• Tempered, adjusted, or modified containers used in certain transactions were excluded.

3.1 Photo Library

For clarity and visual reference, users are encouraged to consult the Ghana NSUS Photo Library to guide the collection of consumption and agricultural production quantities at:

Visit Photo Library

4.0 About the Ghana NSUs Web System

The web-based system provides standardised conversion factors for Non-Standard Units (NSUs) used in selected agricultural commodities and other food products at the market and farmgate levels, and for consumption at the household level. Access the system using any web browser (Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, or Microsoft Edge) on a computer or mobile device.