Economic Implications of a Changing Climate on Smallholder Pineapple Production in Ghana

Pineapple production in Ghana plays a major role in developing the economy through socioeconomic impacts and export. Climatic variations contribute to variable yield and subsequently affect pineapple productivity. Direct dependence on climate for pineapple production could have significant economic implications.  This study examined the economic impact of a changing climate on smallholder pineapple farming in Ghana.  Data from 400 pineapple farmers was obtained from four pineapple growing districts using a two-stage sampling technique. Ricardian regression approach was used to estimate the relationship between farmer’s net farm revenue per hectare, climate and other control variables such as soil and socio economic characteristics. The results revealed negative economic effect between rainfall and net revenue during vegetative stage of pineapple production as well as temperature and net revenue during the flowering stage. A positive effect between net revenue and temperature during yield formation stage was also observed. The study again discovered a fall in net revenue if temperature increases by 1°C and a rise in net revenue if rainfall increases by 1mm during production. The other variables that were key to net revenue were production on Dystric Planosols soil type, access to credit and membership of farmer-based associations. Given the role of pineapple production in the Ghanaian economy, supporting and promoting adaptation options to address issues of climate variability and change is recommended for improved productivity to sustain the pineapple industry economically. Keywords: Net revenue, temperature, rainfall, pineapple production, Ghan

Situational analysis study for the agriculture sector in Ghana

Agriculture is important for Ghana’s economy and the livelihoods of the majority of the rural population even though its level of contribution to GDP is declining. Its importance is not only in terms of the contribution to food and nutrition security, but also in providing a basis for agro-industrial activities and for exports. It provides jobs and livelihoods to a significant proportion of the population especially in the rural areas. Farmers cultivate major staples such as maize, cassava, yam, plantain, sorghum and rice. The cash crops grown include cocoa, oil palm, cashew and rubber among others. Ghana’s 2019 annual growth rate for agriculture was 4.6%. The crop sub-sector is the largest in the agricultural sector followed by livestock and fisheries. The impacts of climate change on agriculture are not just projected but are real. The sector is currently contending against erratic rainfall patterns, water stress, desertification/ degradation of ecological systems/ forest degradation; increasing temperatures; and disruption of seasonality. Climate change affects agricultural activities in diverse ways including changes in the onset of the rainy season, increase incidence and frequency in some regions, increase in post-harvest losses of agricultural commodities, decline in the availability and quality of forage and high mortality and morbidity of livestock. Managing the impacts of climate change is important in addressing the challenge of enhancing productivity in the agricultural sector. It is a multi-dimensional challenge; hence solutions must emanate from the identifiable components of the environment. Agriculture is given a high priority in Ghana’s political and socio-economic discourse with the President highlighting the agricultural programme of PFJ as the flagship of his government. The various national policy documents including the national development framework have underscored the importance of the agricultural sector. However, there is need to enhance policy coherence and strengthen policy implementation along the governance structures from the national through the regional to the municipal and district assemblies. Farmers and women must have stronger voices at the district level to articulate better their concerns. Besides, Ghana’s national budgetary allocation to the agricultural sector is still below the target of the Maputo Declaration at about 9.7% currently. However, the on-going programmes such as the PFJ and its constituent modules are likely to increase it. The funding from multi- and bilateral sources are also likely to increase agricultural expenditures. The key recommendations proposed include creating an enabling legal, institutional and policy framework to create a favorable environment for enhancing policy coherence and strengthening policy implementation along the governance structures from the national to regional through to the municipal and district assemblies. It is also important to increase national budgetary and finance flows from bilateral and multi-lateral sources into the agriculture sector to promote widespread adoption of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA). Investments should take into account gender and youth considerations, supported by a strong extension services system. Farmers’ adoption of CSA is an important intervention area that economic planning must cater for. Market access and access to financial resources to finance their agricultural activities in crops, livestock, fishery and agroforestry, are crucial. Government must consider, adopt and implement this recommendation in collaboration with other stakeholders

Innovation in low income countries: A survey report

This report gathered data from more than 500 formal and informal firms from across Ghana, sampling businesses in a large variety of industries to investigate the determinants of innovation in firms under institutional and resource constraints, and how innovation is transmitted in these contexts

Scaling up of CSA Platforms at the Subnational (District) Levels in Ghana: a Progressive Achievement of Theghana CCAFS Science-Policy Platform

Globally the picture on climate change and its effects on humanity appear quite disturbing as food systems and consumption patterns are sliding towards low against prediction values. In Ghana population expansion as a driver has quadrupled now and calls for more food and fibre needs than ten decades ago (Karbo et al, 2015). The awareness of climate change on socio-economic development among development workers, scientists and policy decision makers appears high though more attention has been given to the search for biophysical solutions than the policy institutional environment enabling their uptake. The CCAFS programme in West Africa coordinated by ICRISAT, Bamako involving Ghana, Mali and Senegal was able to set up national multi-stakeholder platforms for sharing information on climate change and related policy issues. The platforms also provide a linkage mechanism between research, policy decision makers and community level actors in order to positively influence climate change investments and project trajectory in agriculture with effective adaptive, resilient and mitigation outcomes at the farmer level. The Ghana CCAFS Science –Policy Platform formation preceded with a meeting held in Burkina Faso in 2013 where a three member team from Ghana was involved with subsequent drafting and submission of proposal in request for funding leading to its establishment. The Ghana national climate change science policy platform as a multi-stakeholder institutional innovation came into being in 2013 with the support of CCAFS West Africa, set out to bridge science-policy literacy gap at the national and sub-national levels. In 2014, Ghana through the collaborative efforts of the national Platform implemented CCAFS Flagship4 activities which sought to deepen interaction at all levels. This culminated into the establishment of platforms at Lawra, Jirapa and Nandom districts with the view to strengthen climate change discourse, attitudinal change and actions at that level while maintaining a vibrant functional linkage mechanism with the national platforms for policy influence. An assessment of climate change policy and institutional context by Essegbey 2014, in these three districts, revealed that large gap exists between the national and subnational levels in terms of policy development and dissemination. The report identified weaknesses in harnessing societal grassroots inputs for policy formulation process and lack of awareness and knowledge about the policy especially in the decentralized levels of society in these three districts (Essegbey 2014). This suggests that policy literacy is very low and could pose challenge to effective implementation of the NCCP. The establishment of these platforms were necessary to help bridge the policy literacy gap. Today, these platforms provide soft landing for research activities and projects such ASSAR project, Water and Land Ecosystem project etc. The platforms also provide inputs into the districts level development annual plans. Effective networking with other local and international bodies have also been recognised. This info note seeks to give a process description of the scaling up of district sciencepolicy platforms in Ghana, the structures, the perceptions of the actors with particular reference to the platform, perceived functions, fears and organizational leadership diversities

Climate-Smart Agricultural Practices in Ghana

The contribution of the agricultural sector to Ghana's economy has been dwindling in relative terms from a high of 39 per cent in 1990s to about 21 per cent in 2014 (ISSER, 2015). This reduction to the sector’s GDP notwithstanding, sector continues to play a major role in the country’s socio-economic growth. However, the sector is threatened by the effects of climate variability and climate change. There are already efforts being made at various levels to address this threat through the adoption and adaption of various technologies and practices. This paper profiles technologies and practices that respond to CSA principles and characteristics in the northern Guinea savannah and Forest agro-ecological zones of Ghana. Two regional workshops were held in Wa and Kumasi for the savannah and forest zones respectively. Over 200 participants consisting of farmers, NGOs, FBOs, MoFA directors and extension workers, traditional rulers, District Chief Executives, Academia and researchers were involved in the technology identification and profiling employing a matrix-ranking tool in the working groups at the various workshops. Participants identified 61 and 21 CSA technologies and practices in the Guinea Savannah and the Forest zones respectively and recommended scaling up of these technologies in the various zones. While the traditional rulers and farmers bemoaned the lack of synergy among the institutions involved in CSA and the lack of policy continuity, policy makers called for strengthening of collaboration between the stakeholders for CSA. The policy and decision makers further called on scientists to make CSA accessible at the farmer level through demonstrations and fact sheets for awareness creation and education and promised to support research and extension with the needed funds. Representatives of Academia and Research on their part pledged solutions that are sustainable and have climate change adaptation and mitigation effects for profit and the well-being of farmers

Systems and Operations of the Ghana Science-Policy Dialogue Platform on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security

The threat posed by climate change and its variability within sub-Saharan Africa especially West Africa is compounded by its weak economies and high dependence on Agriculture as a major driver of economic growth. Ghana has since 2010 undertaken several initiatives towards development of comprehensive programmes (strategies) to enhance national adaptation to climate change. Diverse governmental and academic/research institutions, private sector and individuals have initiated programmes and projects aimed at delivering on CSA to enhance livelihoods, increased agricultural production and sustainable socio-economic development. However, the activities of these stakeholders in the climate change arena appeared isolated, disjointed and uncoordinated to reap desired benefits. In response, the CCAFS programme in West Africa coordinated by ICRISAT, Bamako involving Ghana, Mali and Senegal was able to set up national multi-stakeholder platforms for information sharing and learning on climate change and related policy issues. The Ghana CCAFS Science-Policy Dialogue Platform having been operational since November 2012 has wealth of experiences to share. This note is therefore designed to highlight the profile of Ghana’s platform, its structure and composition and the key achievements over the past 4-5 years of existence

Achievements and lessons learnt in promoting Climate-Smart Agriculture implementation in Ghana through Science-Policy dialogue platforms

Climate change and variability is affecting all aspects of the development process. Agriculture and food systems are key vulnerable sectors to climate change impacts especially in the sub-Saharan Africa where Ghana is placed. In 2010, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) introduced the concept of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) as an integrated approach to managing landscapes that address the interlinked challenges of food security and accelerating climate change. CSA aims to simultaneously achieve three outcomes: increased productivity, enhanced resilience, and reduced emissions. Within this context, the role of institutions and policy and research cannot be overemphasized. The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) in West Africa has since 2012 supported the creation of national multi-stakeholder platforms on climate-smart agriculture in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Senegal. The platforms were established to use scientific evidence in order to create awareness on climate change impacts on agriculture and make recommendations on the mainstreaming of climate change and CSA into agricultural development plans. This info note aims to synthesize key milestones, achievements and lessons learnt over the last 8 years from the Ghana Science-Policy Dialogue Platform on climate-smart agriculture to inform policy influence and further research orientation on science-policy interaction

Scenario-Guided Review of the Ghana Livestock Policy

Climate change impacts are manifesting throughout the world and they are especially significant in developing countries, including Ghana, that are particularly vulnerable. The impacts of climate change are complex and uncertain in nature that the usual conventional planning often falls short to address. In agriculture in particular, planning should be purposively done to effectively address climate change impacts especially for the livestock sub-sector that always seem to be insufficiently catered for. To address the uncertainty of future developments in an adequate way, a methodology that acknowledges the uncertainty and complexity is essential. Scenario-building methodology is a tried-and-tested approach in that regard. It is based on systems science and seeks to recognize and explore uncertainty and complexity in the decision-makers’ context. In multi-stakeholder contexts, exploratory scenarios engage multiple legitimate perspectives involved in framing and addressing unclear challenges related to food security and the environment. This leads to an extensive overview of plausible futures, articulating complex interactions between socio-economic factors, political developments, climate change, and the global context. Policy making needs a methodology that appropriately delivers visionary options. For Ghana’s livestock sub-sector such visionary options are vital. And in order to produce a new and robust version of Ghana’s livestock policy, currently being finalized by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), MoFA in collaboration with the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has successfully organized a Three-Day Workshop from 13th to 15th July, 2016 at the Forest Hotel. The scenario-guided review workshop was conducted through a participatory approach which brought relevant stakeholders from the Government (MoFA, etc), academia, civil society and the private sector together to review the livestock policy. The CCAFS West Africa scenarios workshops informed the process in Ghana. In order to address specific issues in Ghana, these West Africa scenarios were downscaled and adapted to the level of Ghana by the Ghanaian stakeholders. These downscaled Ghana scenarios were then used for reviewing the livestock policy with the objective to produce a new, robust version in the face of future uncertainty. Dignitaries in attendance were Dr. Kwame Oppong-Anane, the Consultant for the Drafting of the Livestock Policy, who was the chairman for the workshop, Dr. E .K. Adu (Director, CSIR- ARI) who delivered the welcome address, Dr. Victor Agyeman (Director General, CSIR, Ghana), Dr. Robert Zougmore (CCAFS West Africa), and Mr. Kwamena Akorful (Director, APD , MoFA) who each delivered statements. Facilitators for the workshop included Dr. Samuel Partey, Dr. Karbo Naaminong, Dr.George Owusu Essegbey, Mr. Delali Nutsukpo, Mr. Vincent Ansah Botchway, Ms. Mavis Akuffobea and Kingsley Odum Sam who worked under the guidance of CCAFS’ Scenarios technical expert, Dr. Lucas Rutting, based at the Environmental Change Institute of the University of Oxford, UK

Capacitating Science-Policy dialogue platforms to trigger actions for accessing climate finance: experiences and lessons learnt from Ghana, Mali and Niger

Adequate financial resources are key barriers limiting the effectiveness and sustainability of the national science-policy dialogue platforms in West Africa. This Info Note documents the outcomes of and lessons learnt from capacity building activities to science-policy dialogue platforms in Ghana, Mali and Niger and how the capacity building program empowered the platforms and/or triggered actions for accessing climate finance. A structured engagement and capacity building approach was implemented to strength resource mobilization capacity of the science-policy dialogue platforms in Ghana, Mali and Niger. The approach has enabled the development of three GCF concept notes and two bilateral donor proposals for accessing climate finance. The structured engagement and capacity building approach adopted was instrumental in triggering actions. The strong commitment and leadership of the institutions hosting the secretariat of the platforms were also crucial in triggering action

Implementation, usage, and effectiveness of Ghana climate change policies: an assessment of the national CSA Action Plan and CSA Investment Framework

" Five years after the adoption of CSA Action Plan, followed by a CSA Investment Framework, it was crucial to assess the level of implementation and usage and draw lessons on the effectiveness of these two policy documents. This study aims to provide a scientific-based assessment of the level of implementation, usage, and effectiveness of the above-mentioned two Ghana climate change policy documents. Due to low awareness of stakeholders, the implementation of the CSA Action Plan and CSA Investment Framework is low (19% of studied districts). The usage of the CSA Action Plan focuses more on crop value chain development followed by livestock and fish value chains. The CSA Investment Framework was used to mobilize resource to develop climate-resilient cropping systems, alternative livelihood systems, post-harvest management, market systems, and water conservation activities. The effectiveness of the CSA Action Plan and CSA Investment Framework depends on the number of target beneficiaries, budget allocation and funds mobilized. Multipurpose policy instruments are critical for bringing about a conducive environment to address climate change and related risks. Increasing awareness of the CSA Action Plan is a key pathway to enhance its usage, implementation and effectiveness across scales. To enable effective use of the CSA Investment Framework, there is a need to enhance the capacity of key stakeholders on the development of bankable proposal