Climate change resilience: lessons from local climate-smart agricultural practices in Ghana

Mensah, Henry; Ahadzie, Divine Kwaku; Takyi, Stephen Appiah; Amponsah, Owusu

doi:10.1007/s40974-020-00181-3

Cited by 23 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Notes 1. Agriculture is the mainstay of many African economies as it contributes the most to GDP, provide the bulk of the raw materials needed by the manufacturing industry, serves as a source of employment for about two-thirds of the population and an essential pathway for pro-poor economic growth (Asfaw & Branca, 2018;Mensah et al, 2020;Muchuru & Nhamo, 2019;Senyolo et al, 2018). 2.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1 Climate change is expected to have dire consequences for the continent. Temperature is projected to rise more than the global average and accompanied by unfavourable changes in precipitation leading to stressed agricultural and natural systems characterized by increased drought, shorter growing season, increased incidence of pests and diseases, increased floods and decreased agricultural productivity (Ahenkan et al, 2020;Asfaw & Branca, 2018;FAO, 2013;Mensah et al, 2020;Muchuru & Nhamo, 2019;Senyolo et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Farmers’ preferences for climate-smart cowpea varieties: implications for crop breeding programmes

Martey

Etwire

Adogoba

et al. 2021

Climate and Development

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Despite sustained efforts to promote climate-smart technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), adoption remains low. At the same time, the downside risks associated with climate change and food insecurity are becoming acute. Improved cowpea varieties are climate-smart and contribute to food and nutrition security. Limited evidence exists, however, regarding how cowpea attributes influence adoption. We use a discrete choice experiment to investigate farmers' preferences and mean willingness to pay (WTP) for cowpea variety attributes. Our results show that farmers' decision to adopt improved cowpea varieties increases in response to the following attributes: higher yields, early maturity, and white seed coat colour. The results indicate that 86% of the sampled farmers prefer climate-smart cowpea. Secondly, while we observe a wide dispersion of WTP among female cowpea farmers relative to male cowpea farmers, participation in cowpea training reduces the dispersion of WTP for both men and women. Moreover, controlling for farmer risk aversion further decreases the dispersion of WTP for all respondents. Our experiment reemphasizes the need for crop breeding programmes to be participatory. Moreover, such programmes would do well to satisfy the demands of different segments of the population based on risk, gender, and geographical characteristics.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farmers’ preferences for climate-smart cowpea varieties: implications for crop breeding programmes

Martey

Etwire

Adogoba

et al. 2021

Climate and Development

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“…It is also suggested that teachers in Ghana may consider reaching out to the Department of Parks and Gardens, which can be found in all the regions in Ghana for them to gain knowledge in horticulture and integrate gardening into school programmes (Burt et al 2018;Zelenika et al 2018). Incorporating training in some sustainable traditional agricultural practices for school staff could also be organised by Agricultural Extension Agents agricultural extension service, a knowledgeable parent who owns a farm or garden, an NGO, or the GES in the context of sustainable food production in changing climate (Mensah et al 2020;Patel et al 2020;Singh and Singh 2017). The Framework for Successful Implementation argues that incorporating a new programme in the existing practices improves organisational capacity (Durlak and DuPre 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Restoring the school garden programme in Ghana: an exploration of the key issues from the past and implications for the future

et al. 2021

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The promotion of environmental education through School Garden Programme (SGP) has gained global recognition. This stems from societies' growing awareness of the fundamental role school gardens play in environmental education and community adaptation to the changing climate. Although the concept is not new in Ghana, its implementation is confined to very limited number of schools. This article focuses on school gardening and addresses the barriers in its implementation to raise environmental awareness in Ghana. Drawing from garden-based educational studies, the study relied on databases such as Google Scholar, Science Direct, and Scopus for recent studies, complemented by grey literature sources. The study revealed that Ghana is making efforts in environmental educational activities but has not successfully integrated the concept of school gardening into classroom curriculum; There is also limited collaboration between the schools and the wider community as well as limited funding for setting up a school garden. These factors undermine the promotion SGP in Ghanaian school. As such, the study suggests that SGP can be enhanced by 1) involving community and relevant stakeholders to promote the benefits of school gardening for positive learning outcomes and behavioural improvements, 2) incorporating it into educational policies/school curriculum to allow students to connect and interact with the natural environment, 3) providing financial support to foster its sustainability, and 4) providing professional development of teachers on SGP to improve their school garden knowledge and skills. By adhering to these measures, existing and future SGP will achieve the desired social (education and health) and environmental outcomes in Ghana and Africa in general.

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“…Finally, planting of earlier maturing crop varieties and terracing were significantly associated with land management at 1 and 5% with p-values 5.180 and 3.017, respectively. Earlier studies have found that the use of domestic waste, terracing, and crop rotation/fallowing have promising qualities to improve soil quality for activities of farming (Partey et al, 2018;Andrieu et al, 2020;Mensah et al, 2020). The study of Andrieu et al (2020) on mapping favorable zones for uptake of climate-smart agricultural practices in West Africa reported that crop rotation as a climate-smart practice has the potential to support sustainable agriculture through improved soil fertility.…”

Section: Relationship Between Climate-smart Agricultural Practices and Soil Water And Land Management For Activities Of Farmingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The study of Andrieu et al (2020) on mapping favorable zones for uptake of climate-smart agricultural practices in West Africa reported that crop rotation as a climate-smart practice has the potential to support sustainable agriculture through improved soil fertility. Other studies have found that sustainable land management practices such as terracing could support sustainable food production and food systems (Issahaku and Abdulai, 2020;Mensah et al, 2020;Angom et al, 2021;Waaswa et al, 2021). The study of Waaswa et al (2021) on climate-smart agriculture dissemination pathways among smallholder potato farmers in Kenya reported that crop rotation, compositing, terracing, and irrigation have helped improve the quality of soil, water, and land for agricultural activities.…”

Section: Relationship Between Climate-smart Agricultural Practices and Soil Water And Land Management For Activities Of Farmingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Illegal” Gold Mining Operations in Ghana: Implication for Climate-Smart Agriculture in Northwestern Ghana

Yiridomoh

2021

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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Globally, climate-smart agriculture is highly recognized as an approach for sustainable agriculture and food systems. In Africa and other developing countries, climate-smart agriculture is observed to reposition and modify agricultural systems for improved food and nutritional security. Despite the relevance of the approach to sustainable agricultural planning, illegal gold mining in many parts of the society is placing constraints to its implementation and adoption through its contest with agricultural land for space and activities. Illegal gold mining is on the rise due to the lucrativeness of the non-regulated gold rush opportunities with hard consequences on sustainable agriculture and resilience food systems. As a result, this study seeks to investigate illegal gold mining and its environmental implication for climate-smart agriculture in Ghana. The study used a single case study using a mixed-methods approach to research. The study adopted purposive and systematic sampling techniques to select the study communities and respondents, respectively. Questionnaire and interviews were used to gather the primary data from respondents at the household level, as the unit of analysis. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis reveal that known agricultural practices such as terracing, crop rotation, use of domestic waste/manure, and irrigation of crops were affected adversely by activities of illegal mining. The study recommends the need for conscious efforts from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to sustain the ban on illegal mining with intensified monitoring and supervision while a systematic scheme involving relevant stakeholders is developed and implemented to ban illegal mining in Ghana completely. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture needs to develop an approach to support the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices by smallholder farmers to meet the food demand of their households.

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Climate change resilience: lessons from local climate-smart agricultural practices in Ghana

Cited by 23 publications

References 60 publications

Farmers’ preferences for climate-smart cowpea varieties: implications for crop breeding programmes

Farmers’ preferences for climate-smart cowpea varieties: implications for crop breeding programmes

Restoring the school garden programme in Ghana: an exploration of the key issues from the past and implications for the future

“Illegal” Gold Mining Operations in Ghana: Implication for Climate-Smart Agriculture in Northwestern Ghana

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