Implication of Changing Climatic Conditions on the Livelihoods of Smallholder Pineapple Farmers in Akuapim South Municipality

Abstract

Changing climatic trends pose problems for agriculture dependent livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Ghana, Smallholder pineapple farmers in the Akuapim South Municipality are often considered vulnerable to the changing climatic conditions as a result of their farms being located in marginal soils, their insecure land tenure and their participation in unpredictable world export markets. Analysing how smallholder pineapple farmers in the municipality perceive climate variability and extremes, the associated risk on their yields, the factors that enable or constrain their adaptive capacity, and their adaptation response may prove insightful for creating effective education and training tools and climate adaptation policies. In the study, data was obtained from primary (household survey) and secondary sources (Ghana Metrological Agency and The Ministry of Food and Agriculture). The results of the linear specification model showed that rainfall and temperature range very much influence pineapple yield within the municipality. The study also showed that most respondents’ account of the changes in the long-term climatic trends was similar to that of the regional climate records. The discrete choice model used to find the determinants of climate adaptation strategies in the municipality, confirmed that marital status, education and perception of changes in temperature are the important determinants of adaptation. Finally, the study established that adaptation and coping responses used by farmers included both on and off-farm approaches. The thesis results suggest that adaptation efforts intended to reduce the impacts of changing climatic trends on smallholder pineapple farmers should be holistic and address the day-to-day problems and risks associated with their livelihoods