Addressing the impact of climate change on the agricultural sector – Government urges

Professor Samuel Donkor, Dean of the School of Applied Economics and Management Sciences at the University of Development Studies, urged the government to tackle the negative impact of climate change on agricultural productivity in the rural areas.

He said, “The inherent uncertainty of rainfall and extreme weather events affects food security, especially in rural communities.”

Professor Donkor made the call during a multi-

Stakeholder Dialogue on Climate Change in Tamale on the theme: “Building Inclusive Climate Mitigation and Adaptation in Northern Ghana”.

It was organized by Friedrich Ebert-Stiftung in collaboration with Youth Advocacy on Right and Opportunities (YARO) and General Agricultural Workers’ Union (GAWU).

This was to provide a platform to generate new strategies to mitigate the effects of climate change in the northern part of the country.

Professor Donkor said climate-induced events were on the increase and concrete action needed to be taken to address the human aspects that were contributing to the effects of climate change.

He called on citizens to adopt green energy sources such as gas and solar power and climate-smart agriculture in their communities to reduce the effects of climate change on humans.

Ms. Emeliy Ghansah, Education and Training Officer at GAWU, noted that most women were vulnerable and had difficulty accessing land and secure livelihoods due to inheritance rules and land relations in rural areas.

Mr. Edward Kareweh, Secretary General of GAWU, called on civil society organizations to support the government in extension training programs on the impact of climate change for farmers in rural areas.

He added that the government should also enforce the climate change policy and educate communities on the effects of climate change.

Ms. Eunice Asiedu, program coordinator of Friedrich Ebert-Stiftung, expressed the need for the government to develop climate-smart agriculture and subsidize seeds, inputs and equipment for farmers in rural areas to improve the food security in the country.

Mr. Bennin Hajel, Director of YARO, advised the government to pay more attention to the economy of Northern Ghana, which he said was highly dependent on agricultural production.