Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Small-holder farmers’ climate change adaptation practices in the Upper East Region of Ghana

  • Published:
Environment, Development and Sustainability Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The paper assessed the existing adaptation strategies implemented by farmers in the Upper East Region of Ghana to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change and variability. The paper used data collected through a series of participatory methods including focus group discussions, questionnaire surveys and key informant interviews in 4 farming communities with different socioeconomic backgrounds in the Bongo and Talensi-Nabdam Districts of the Upper East Region. Results showed that farmers’ adaptation to climate change and variability may be categorized under agricultural, water management, communal pooling and livelihood diversification techniques. Specific livelihood diversification adaptation practices identified in the study communities include charcoal or fuel wood sales, temporal and permanent migration to urban areas in search of non-existing jobs. Communal pooling, involving joint ownership and sharing of wealth, labor or incomes across households, is not widely practiced and should be enhanced. The findings showed that male and female farmers may engage in different set of adaptation practices to cope with climate change. Further, the results showed that farmers, especially female farmers, were constrained by a lack of property rights of farmlands, lack of credit facilities and lack of access to irrigation facilities, inadequate climate change information and inadequate seeds for planting. The paper recommends that farmers should be encouraged to form farmer-based associations to network socially, access credit facilities, land, insurance products, extension services and training to empower communities and women. Fostering peer exchange of information between communities will ensure best practices, and lessons learnt are shared and scaled-up. This paper contributes to the literature on mechanisms employed by farmers in dryland farming systems to cope with climate change and variability.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Talensi-Nabdam District was split into two districts in 2013 as Talensi and Nabdam districts. Tongo and Nangodi are located in Talensi and Nabdam districts respectively.

References

  • Antwi-Agyei, P. (2012). Vulnerability and adaptation of Ghana’s food production systems and rural livelihoods to climate variability. PhD Thesis, University of Leeds.

  • Antwi-Agyei, P., Dougill, A. J., Stringer, L. C., et al. (2015). Barriers to climate change adaptation: Evidence from northeast Ghana in the context of a systematic literature review. Climate and Development, 7, 297–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Antwi-Agyei, P., Fraser, E. D. G., Dougill, A. J., Stringer, L. C., Simelton, E., et al. (2012). Mapping the vulnerability of crop production to drought in Ghana using rainfall, yield and socioeconomic data. Applied Geography, 32, 324–334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2011.06.010.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Antwi-Agyei, P., Dougill, A. J., Fraser, E. D. G., Stringer, L. C., et al. (2013). Characterising the nature of household vulnerability to climate variability: empirical evidence from two regions of Ghana. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 15(4), 903–926.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Antwi-Agyei, P., Quinn, C. H., Adiku, S. G. K., Codjoe, S. N. A., Dougill, A. J., Lamboll, R., et al. (2016). Perceived stressors of climate vulnerability across scales in the Savannah zone of Ghana: A participatory approach. Regional Environmental Change, 17(1), 213–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Antwi-Agyei, P., Stringer, L. D., Dougill, A. J., et al. (2014). Livelihoods adaptation to climate variability: Insights from farming households in Ghana. Regional Environmental Change, 14, 1615–1626.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Armah, F. A., Yawson, D. O., Yengoh, G. T., Odoi, J. O., Afrifa, E. K. A., et al. (2010). Impact of floods on livelihoods and vulnerability of natural resource dependent communities in Northern Ghana. Water, 2, 120–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Assan, J. K., Caminade, C., Obeng, F., et al. (2009). Environmental variability and vulnerable livelihoods: Minimising risks and optimising opportunities for poverty alleviation. Journal of International Development, 21, 403–418. https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.1563.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bawakyillenuo, S., Yaro, J. A., Teye, J., et al. (2016). Exploring the autonomous adaptation strategies to climate change and climate variability in selected villages in the rural northern savannah zone of Ghana. Local Environment, 21(3), 361–382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benneh, G. (2009). Population, disease and rural development programs in the Upper East Region. In J. I. Clarke & M. Khogali (Eds.), Population and development projects in Africa (p. 348). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blench, R. (2006). Working paper: Background conditions in Upper East Region, Northern Ghana, 2005 Wa. Sunday, 01 Jan 2006.

  • Boko, M., Niang, I., Nyong, A., Vogel, C., Githeko, A., Medany, M., et al. (2007). Africa. In M. L. Parry, O. F. Canziani, J. P. Palutikof, P. J. Van Der Linden, & C. E. Hanson (Eds.), Climate change (2007): Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (pp. 433–467). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bongo District Assembly. (2015). Bongo District Agriculture Development Unit/Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Bongo District Assembly.

  • Bryan, E., Ringler, C., Okoba, B., Roncoli, C., Silvestri, S., Herrero, M., et al. (2013). Adapting agriculture to climate change in Kenya: Household strategies and determinants. Journal of Environmental Management, 114, 26–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christensen, J. H., Hewitson, B., Busuioc, A., Chen, A., Gao, X., Held, R., et al. (2007). Regional climate projections: climate change (2007): The physical science basis Contribution of working group I to the fourth assessment report of the IPCC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Codjoe, S. N. A., Owusu, G., et al. (2011). Climate change/variability and food systems: Evidence from the Afram Plains. Ghana. Regional Environmental Change, 11(4), 753–765. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-011-0211-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dasgupta, A., & Baschieri, A. (2010). Vulnerability to climate change in rural Ghana: Mainstreaming Climate change in poverty reduction strategies. Journal of International Development, 22, 803–820. https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.1666.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies, S. (1996). Adaptable livelihoods coping with food insecurity in the Malian Sahel. London: Macmillan Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Pinto, A., Demirag, U., Haruna, A., Koo, J., & Asamoah, M., et al. (2012). Climate change, agriculture, and food crop production in Ghana. International Food Policy Research Institute Policy Note 3, September, 2012.

  • Di Falco, S., Veronesi, M., Yesuf, M., et al. (2011). Does adaptation to climate change provide food security? a micro-perspective from Ethiopia. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 93(3), 829–846.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickson, K. B., & Benneh, G. (1988). A new geography of Ghana. Essex: Longman Group Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dietz, T., Millar, D., Dittoh, S., Obeng, F., Ofori-Sarpong, E., et al. (2004). Climate and livelihood change in North East Ghana. In A. J. Dietz et al. (Eds.), The impact of climate change on drylands: With a focus on West-Africa, 149–172. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, F. (1998). Household strategies and rural livelihood diversification. The Journal of Development Studies, 35(1), 1–38. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220389808422553.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Environmental Protection Agency. (2011). Ghana’s second national communication to the United Nations framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC). Accra: EPA.

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO. (2007). Climate change and food security: A framework for action. Report by an interdepartmental working group on climate change. Rome: FAO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford, J. (2007). Emerging trends in climate change policy: The role of adaptation. International Public Policy Review, 3, 5–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghana Meteorological Agency. (2010). Regional rainfall data in mm (2001–2010). Accra: Ghana Meteorological Agency.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glazerbrook, T. (2011). Women and climate change: a case study from northeast Ghana. Hypatia, 26(4), 762–782. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1527-2001.2011.01212.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • GSS. (2005). Analysis of district data and implications for planning Upper East Region. Accra: Ghana Statistical Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • GSS. (2012). 2010 Population and housing census. Summary report of results. Accra: Ghana Statistical Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gyasi, E. A., Karikari, O., Kranjac-Berisavljevic, G., & Von Vordzogbe, V., et al. (2006). Study of climate change vulnerability and adaptation assessment relative to land management in Ghana. Reports of the members of the study team, pp. 1–91.

  • Habtezion, S., Eggerts, E., Huyer, S., Strohmeier, H., Wanjiru, L., et al. (2013). Gender and Adaptation. NewYork: United Nations Development Programme.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hulme, M. (2001). Climatic perspectives on Sahelian desiccation: 1973–1998. Global Environmental Change, 11, 19–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IPCC. (2007). Climate change 2007: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Contribution of working group II to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • IPCC. (2014). Climate change 2014: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Contribution of working group II to the IPCC fifth assessment report. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumasi, T. C. (2017). Conflict resolution and collective action for ecological restoration in the highlands of Northern Ethiopia. British Journal of Environment and Climate Change, 7(3), 168–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumasi, T. C. & Asenso-Okyere, K., (2011). Responding to land degradation in the highlands of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC. IFPRI Discussion Paper 01142, December 2011.

  • Lambrou, Y., & Nelson, S. (2013). Gender issues in climate change adaptation: Farmers’ food security in Andhra Pradesh. In Alson, M., & Whittenbury, K (Eds.), Research, action and policy: Addressing the gendered impacts of climate change (pp. 189–206). Springer, Dordrecht.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Laube, W., Schraven, B., Awo, M., et al. (2012). Small-holder adaptation to climate change: Dynamics and limits in northern Ghana. Climatic Change, 111, 753–774.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lobell, D. B., Bänziger, M., Magorokosho, C., Vivek, B., et al. (2011). Nonlinear heat effects on African maize as evidenced by historical yield trials. Nature Climate Change, 1, 1–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKinley, J., Adaro, C., Pede, V., Setiyono, T., Thang, T. C., & Huong, D. L., et al. (2016). Gender differences in climate change perception and adaptation strategies: A case study on three provinces in Vietnam’s Mekong River Delta. CCAFS Info Note, Copenhagen, Denmark. CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).

  • McSweeney, C., New, M., & Lizcano, G. et al. (2008). UNDP climate change country profiles: Ghana [online]. Available from: Accessed 8 Nov 2017.

  • Mertz, O., Mbow, C., Reenberg, A., Genesio, L., Lambin, E. F., D’haen, S., et al. (2011). Adaptation strategies and climate vulnerability in the Sudano-Sahelian region of West Africa. Atmospheric Science Letters, 12, 104–108. https://doi.org/10.1002/asl.314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Millar, D., Dietz, T., Dittoh, S., Obeng, F. Ofori, Sarpong, E., et al. (2004). Climate and livelihood change in North East Ghana. Environment and Policy, 39, 149–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology. (2012). Ghana National Climate Change Policy. Accra. Available from https://pef.org.gh/documents/climate-change/national-climate-change-policy.pdf. Accessed 9 Nov 2017.

  • Mittal, S. (2016). Role of mobile phone-enabled climate information services in gender-inclusive agriculture. Gender, Technology and Development, 20(2), 200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mortimore, M. J., & Adams, W. M. (2001). Farmer adaptation, change and crisis in the Sahel. Global Environmental Change, 11(1), 49–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0959-3780(00)00044-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson G. C. (2009). Agriculture and climate change: An agenda for negotiation in Copenhagen. 2020 Focus No. 16. May 2009. http://www.ifpri.org/2020/focus/focus16.asp. Accessed 20 Jan 2014.

  • Nyantakyi-Frimpong, H. (2013). Indigenous knowledge and climate adaptation policy in Northern Ghana [Online]. Available: http://dspace.cigilibrary.org/jspui/bitstream/123456789/33506/1/Backgrounder%20No%20%2048%20-%20Indigenous%20Knowledge%20and%20Climate%20Adaptation%20in%20Northern%20Ghana.pdf?1.

  • Onta, N., & Resurreccion, B. P. (2011). The role of gender and caste in climate adaptation strategies in Nepal. Mountain Research and Development, 31(4), 351–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paavola, J. (2008). Livelihoods, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in Morogoro. Tanzania. Environmental Science and Policy, 11(7), 642–654. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2008.06.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paeth, H., & Hense, A. (2004). SST versus climate change signals in West African rainfall: 20th-century variations and future projections. Climate Change, 65(1/2), 179–208. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:CLIM.0000037508.88115.8a.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Palanisami, K., Haileslassie, A., Kakumanu, K. R., Ranganathan, C. R., Wani, S. P., & Craufurd, P., et al. (2015). Climate change, gender and adaptation strategies in dryland systems of South Asia: A household level analysis in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan States of India; Research Report No. 65. Project Report. ICRISAT, Patancheru, Telangana, India.

  • Prah, M. (1995). National action programme for poverty reduction: Background report on women in development. Report prepared for the Ministry of Local Government Accra and UNDP.

  • Rademacher-Schulz, C., & Mahama, E. S. (2012). “Where the rain falls” project. Case study Ghana. Results from Nadowli district, Upper West region. Report No. 3. Bonn: The UNU Institute for Environment and Human Security.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schiffer, E., McCarthy, N., Birner, R., Waale, D., & Asante, F. et al. (2008) Information flow and acquisition of knowledge in water governance in the Upper East Region of Ghana. IFPRI Discussion Paper 00820 November 2008.

  • Seo, S. N. (2009). Is an integrated farm more resilient against climate change? a micro-econometric analysis of portfolio diversification in African agriculture. Food Policy, 35(1), 32–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, B., Burton, I., Klein, R. J. T., Wandel, J., et al. (2000). An anatomy of adaptation to climate change and variability. Climatic Change, 45(1), 223–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thornton, P. K., Jones, P. G., Ericksen, P. J., Challinor, A. J., et al. (2011). Agriculture and food systems in sub-Saharan Africa in a 4C + world. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 369(1934), 117–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • TNDADU. (2015). Talensi Nabdam District Agriculture Development Unit/Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Talensi Nabdam District Agriculture Development Unit. http://mofa.gov.gh/site/?paged=1658.

  • Van der Geest, K. (2011). North-South Migration in Ghana: What Role for the Environment? International Migration, 49(S1), 69–94. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2435.2010.00645.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitehead, A., & Tsikata, D. (2003). Policy discourses on women’s land rights in sub–Saharan Africa: The implications of the return to the customary. Journal of Agrarian Change, 3(1–2), 67–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yaro, J. A. (2010). Customary tenure systems under siege: Contemporary access to land in Northern Ghana. GeoJournal, 75(2), 199–214. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-009-9301-x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yaro, J. A., Teye, J., Bawakyillenuo, S., et al. (2015). Local institutions and adaptive capacity to climate change/variability in the northern savannah of Ghana. Climate and Development, 7(3), 235–245.

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support and collaboration of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the District Assemblies and Traditional rulers in the communities from the Upper East Region. The contributions of field enumerators and focal persons, who were involved in data collection, are gratefully acknowledged. We are also grateful to the Center for International Governance Innovation African Initiative Grant Research for providing funding for this research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Community Water and Sanitation Agency, Headquarters, PMB-KIA, Accra, Ghana

    Tyhra Carolyn Kumasi

  2. Department of Environmental Science, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

    Philip Antwi-Agyei

  3. Department of Theoretical and Applied Biology, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

    Kwasi Obiri-Danso

Authors
  1. Tyhra Carolyn Kumasi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Philip Antwi-Agyei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kwasi Obiri-Danso
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tyhra Carolyn Kumasi.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kumasi, T.C., Antwi-Agyei, P. & Obiri-Danso, K. Small-holder farmers’ climate change adaptation practices in the Upper East Region of Ghana. Environ Dev Sustain 21, 745–762 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-017-0062-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-017-0062-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation