Impact of Climate Change: Views and Perceptions of Policy Makers on Smallholder Agriculture in Ghana

Abstract

The threat of global climate change has caused intense debate among policy makers as agricultural productivity and food security risks considerable decline due to changes in rainfallpatterns and temperature. Although the impact of climate change on crop yields vary greatly from region to region, smallholder farmers in developing countries who depend solely on rain-fed agriculture are among the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. While the successes in agricultural production in Africa and Ghana over the last decades are heralded, the inequitable distribution of benefits and unsustainable impacts on natural resources are becoming more evident. Many authors have blamed global warming and climate change on the emission of greenhouse gasses however, farming methods and other human activities are also to blame for the emerging change in the climate. Therefore, bringing farming practices and ecosystem services into decision-making in order to make full use of the potential gains from working with the natural environment and the underpinning biophysical processes is imperative. This paper assesses the views and perceptions of Ghanaian policy makers on the impact of climate change on smallholder agricultural productivity in order to sustain agricultural productivity in Ghana. The study used data from a case study conducted by the Environment Policy Action Node Project with sponsorship from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) in Ghana between 2012 and 2013. An interview guide was used to collect qualitatively data from 35 key policy making institutions/organization in Ghana. One important finding of the paper is that even though Ghana has a climate change policy, most of the policy makers were not aware of the policy document and its contents.