A GNA Feature by Solomon Gumah
Yankazia (N/R), Oct 29, GNA – The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2022 reported that an estimated 282 million people in Africa were undernourished, an increase of 57 million people since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report revealed that approximately 868 million people were moderately or severely food insecure in Africa in 2022 with over one-third or 342 million facing severe food insecurity.
In Ghana, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey for the first and second quarters of 2022 indicated that 49.1 per cent of the population experienced food insecurity with a higher prevalence in rural areas than in urban centres.
The Nationwide Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis (CFSVA) for Ghana in 2020 further reported that about 3.6 million people, representing 11.7% of the population, were food insecure.
Notably, the Northern Region had the highest level of food insecurity constraints with an estimated 598,706 individuals being affected. The CFSVA report identified households led by less educated heads, male-headed households, and those with larger family sizes as particularly vulnerable.
These statistics paint a dire picture of Ghana’s food security landscape, exposing vulnerabilities and underscoring the urgent need for innovative, climate-smart agricultural practices to safeguard against hunger.
Experts, however, have attributed the current food security constraints to climate change including erratic rainfall patterns, droughts, and floods, especially in the Northern Region, where agriculture depends on rain-fed systems.
The shifting trends in precipitation over the years have led to reduced crop yields severely impacting staple crops such as maize, rice, millet, soybeans, and sorghum. This decline does not only affect food availability but also drives up prices, making nutritious food increasingly inaccessible to households.
The recent dry spell in the Northern Region and other parts of the country has further exacerbated the situation destroying farmers’ crops and investments and threatening to result in widespread hunger and starvation.
Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher once stated: “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Addressing Ghana’s food security challenges will require a more scientific and sustainable approach which would prioritise the adoption of climate-resilient crops that can withstand the impact of climate change.
What are Climate-Resilient Crops?
Climate-resilient crops are varieties specifically bred to withstand the challenges posed by climate change including rising temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns, and increased frequency of extreme weather events such as droughts and floods. These crops possess adaptive mechanisms that enable them to survive and thrive in water-scarce environments.
Why should farmers prioritise climate-resilient crops over non-climate-resilient crops?
Mr Alex Yeboah, Acting Head of the Rice Improvement Programme at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR – SARI), in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Tamale, outlined the need for farmers to adopt climate-resilient crops.
He explained that such crops could withstand the changing weather conditions in the country, especially hot temperatures, reduced rainfall amounts, and reduced rainfall durations.
He said farmers who adopted such crops could harvest substantial quantities of produce compared to those who cultivated non-climate resilient crops.
Mr Yeboah indicated that such crops were also able to withstand climate-related or seasonal pests and diseases, adding that sorghum, a climate-resilient crop, was less affected by the fall armyworm.
Available climate-resilient crops for farmers
Several scientifically approved crop varieties have been developed to resist drought while maximising yields. One such variety is Kpamyo, an improved drought-resistant yam variety engineered by CSIR-SARI. Kpamyo yields significantly more than local varieties, with tubers weighing up to 3.5 kilogrammes compared to lower weights in traditional options.
The CSIR-SARI has also developed other approved maize varieties such as Suhudoo, Opeaburo, Denbea, Abotem, and Wang-data. These varieties are drought-resistant, have high yields, and mature quickly, typically within 80 to 85 days.
Favour is also a soybean variety approved by CSIR-SARI that yields about 20% more than other existing varieties. Favour does not only enhance soil quality through organic matter, but it is also disease-resistant compared to its counterparts.
Accessing Improved Varieties
Farmers can obtain these improved crop varieties at agrochemical shops throughout the region. The accessibility of these seeds is crucial for enhancing production and improving food security.
Farmers Testimonies
Some of the farmers, who have piloted the improved varieties, share their experiences/testimonies with this reporter, who visited their farms to assess the impact of their newly found faith (climate-resilient crops).
Mr. Kulimah Abdul-Majeed, a smallholder farmer at Yankazia in the Mion District of the Northern Region, who piloted the Suhudoo variety in 2022 amidst doubts and uncertainty about the outcome of his new adventure, testified that the outcome had been remarkable.
He said between 2022 to 2024, he had increased his maize field from two acres to four acres and his yields had also increased from 15 bags (100kg) per acre to 50 bags (100kg) per acre.
Mr. Abdul-Majeed said through the proceeds from his farm, he paid his daughter’s level 100 fees at the University for Development Studies (UDS) where she was currently pursuing a four-year degree programme in midwifery.
He said: “I’m so happy for this achievement because my daughter is the first female in our community to have reached that height in education. Thanks to the Suhudoo variety. Interestingly, other farmers in my community are also now embracing the new variety because of its high yield and climate change adaptability.”
Mr Abdul-Majeed is not the only farmer recording outcomes in his trail of the climate-resilient crops, Pastor Joseph Binan, a soybeans farmer at Gbintiri in the East Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region, also shared his testimony with the GNA.
Pastor Binan, who also piloted the favoured variety of soybeans within four acres in 2023, reported that he harvested about 40 bags of soybeans per acre, which was quite unusual in his community.
He said: “All the other farmers, who hitherto said let’s wait and see what happens to my new variety, also joined me in the 2024 farming season.”
Hajia Alima Sagito-Saeed, Executive Director of Savannah Women Integrated Development Agency, whose NGO, supports women smallholder farmers in the Northern Region, also adopted climate-resilient crops in the implementation of agricultural programmes among her women groups.
She said the experience had been impactful, especially to vulnerable households adding it had helped to secure women’s economic rights thereby reducing hunger, deprivation and domestic violence issues related to financial constraints.
These testimonies underscore the potential of climate-resilient crops to transform agricultural practices in the country thereby providing hope in the fight against food insecurity.
Professor Franklin Nantui Mabe, a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Agriculture at UDS, who spoke to the GNA, argued that prioritising climate-resilient crops was Ghana’s pathway to attaining food sufficiency and addressing poverty, especially in rural communities.
He explained that farmers, who adopted such practices, were less exposed to crop failure and were likely to be more food secure than their counterparts.
He appealed to farmers to embrace climate-resilient crops to help feed the country and reduce issues of poverty, malnutrition, and undernutrition in the country.
Recommendations/Way forward
In is undoubtedly a truism that the Government shows interest in the growing of climate-resilient crops by supporting farmers in several ways to accept change for newly developed climate-resilient crops in the country.
The Government should guarantee loans to farmers who accept venture into new climate-resilient crops. This, it is expected, would put confidence in farmers to expand their farms into commercialization.
It is further proposed that the government (of Ghana) increases funding support for agricultural institutions such as the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and other universities to develop climate-resilient crop varieties adapted to local conditions.
It is important for Ghana to prioritise collaborating with other international research institutions to transfer knowledge and technologies on crop breeding for resilience to climate variabilities.
Government therefore should ensure that farmers have access to affordable climate-resilient seeds through seedbanks, co-operatives, and public/private partnerships.
Besides, there is an urgent need to implement awareness creation programmes that teach farmers about the benefits of using these varieties and how to integrate them into their farming systems. Developing better marketing channels and value chains for climate-resilient crops to ensure farmers have other financial incentives to grow them.
By adopting these recommendations, Ghana could enhance food security, build resilience against climate change, and reduce vulnerabilities in her agricultural sector.
GNA