Nature of climate change-induced risks in semi-arid northwestern Ghana: Gauged observations, perceptions of smallholder farmers, and perspectives for livelihood adaptation
Loading...
Date
2023
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Information Development
Abstract
Climate variability and impact have been an endemic challenge to smallholder farmers who largely
depend on rainy weather for livelihoods in semi-arid north-western Ghana. Many households in semi arid regions exhibit low levels of adaptive capacity due to ineffective adaptation strategies and poor cop ing strategies. This study examined (1) trends in gauged rainfall and temperature data spanning the per iod from 1984 to 2014 and (2) smallholder farmers’ perceptions about yearly cyclical weather, and
difficulties associated with climate change adaptations. The study adopted the participatory rural
appraisal design using questionnaire, interviews and focus group discussions for collection of data for
analysis. Estimated parameters partially supported that yearly temperatures are increasing, whereas
annual rainfall is declining, although the latter is not significantly related to the former. Smallholder farm ers’ perceptions about changing weather conditions did not corroborate the observed declining annual
rainfall trend. These farmers are faced with livelihood-affecting risks during either ‘prolonged dry per iods from October to May’ or ‘short annual rainy season from mid-May to September. Therefore, access
to climate information and available climate adaptation strategies could improve farming activities and
livelihoods of farmers in response to climate change.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
smallholder farmers’ perception, climate change induced risks, semi-arid north-western Ghana