Impacts of climate change in the form of drastic changes to rainfall patterns, prolonged droughts, loss of soil fertility, biodiversity and the like are stated to be key factors in growing poverty in Ghana.

Agriculture is expected to be hit hard in particular, as major crop yields will decrease in Ghana if certain adaptations are not made. Because climate impacts increase the volatility in food production, Ghana will need to develop and expand a climate-resilient agricultural sector to maintain food security.

In addition, Ghana’s coasts are severely threatened by coastal erosion. The booming coastal population of Ghana has already seen instances of displacement become necessary and will continue to do so at a greater rate. Beach erosion, intensive flooding and saltwater permeation into the water table will render the coastal regions as areas that will be difficult or impossible to develop.

In order to reduce the nation’s influence on climate change, institutions spanning community organizations, nongovernmental organizations and service agencies will need to integrate sustainable practices into their operations. The efforts would move Ghana towards carbon neutrality and further minimize its contributions to greenhouse gas emissions.

To alleviate some of the issues presented, the Ministry for Food and Agriculture in Ghana has set up a task force to analyze the country’s course of development within the context of climate change. With the goal of establishing progressive policy that is able to implement adaptations to climate change impacts throughout Ghana, the task force hopes to decrease the vulnerability of the nation.

Dr. Ahmed Alhassan, the Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, accordingly stated, “Ghana was among the most vulnerable countries in Africa to the impacts of climate change because most of its population depended on agriculture and particularly rain-fed agriculture.”

Because of new information in regards to the extent of climate related impacts on the stability of Ghana, workshops and conferences on climate change impacts have become frequent. The Ghana Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security has also been heavily involved in putting together conferences; these conferences include farmer-based organizations, NGOs, religious bodies, researchers, academia and policy makers.

Adapting to climate change impacts is a difficult task for many reasons, especially since the issue operates on many levels that require for it to be addressed from multiple angles. Due to Ghana’s vulnerability to the impacts of climate change, the nation is taking significant measures towards addressing the issue. With the help of organizations spanning various areas of society, Ghana will continue to establish food security for its future.

– Jugal Patel 

Sources: GhanaWeb, All Africa, Al Jazeera, IFPRI
Photo: GWP