Implementing and Integrating Protected cultivation as an adaptive response within the national Climate Change Policy: Helping Smallholders in Northern Ghana Cope with Climate Change Impacts

Climate change, as observed in changes in global temperatures, rainfall, sea level and carbon dioxide due mainly to human activities such as burning of fossil fuels, is expected to be particularly harmful in tropical and subtropical regions. Agricultural yields are projected to drastically decline due to excessively high temperatures and increased drought risks and higher frequency of extreme erratic climatic conditions resulting from climate change. In sub-Saharan Africa, which is reportedly among the regions in the world to be worse affected, climate change is generally projected to affect the agricultural sector by way of crop losses due to the sector's heavy dependence on rainfall. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) advocates for adaptation as a way of attaining risk reduction of climate change impacts. This study reviews literature on current trends in climate and agriculture among smallholders in Northern Ghana and how global (IPCC) and local (Crop Simulation Model) projections of climate change will affect agricultural productivity and which options exist for adapting to the projected climate change impacts. By looking at resource-poor places where farmers have adopted Protected Agriculture to their advantage, the study finds potential in this technology in helping farmers in Northern Ghana cope with climate-change.

Through a survey of farmers, the study found that crop yields and incomes are decreasing and this calls for the intervention of the government and other stakeholders. The National Climate Change Policy in Ghana has been launched and its implementation is currently underway. The study among other things therefore recommends that Protected Agriculture be made part of this policy.