National stakeholders’ workshop of the Ghana national science-policy dialogue platform on climate change, agriculture and food security: Review of activities and operations

A one-day workshop in Tamale, Ghana was organized to discuss opportunities to leverage partnership between the CCAFS West Africa’s policy-focused project and the Ghana national science-policy dialogue platform on climate-smart agriculture. Specifically, the meeting aimed to share experiences and achievements from the national and district levels science-policy dialogue platforms since their establishment and to dialogue about the way forward as well as plan and develop actions in accordance with CCAFS West Africa’s policy project that began in 2019

Cost and benefit analysis for climate-smart agricultural (csa) practices in the coastal savannah agro-ecological zone (aez) of Ghana

Most countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), including Ghana, rely on agriculture for their income and food security. Any initiative that might help to sustain and improve productivity in agriculture would be a crucial step in improving people’s livelihoods. The adoption of climate-smart practices is a key step in reducing the threat to the sustainability of agricultural production in Ghana. Yet, despite the concern about the threat caused by climate variability and change, little empirical analysis has been carried out to date on how best to tackle it. However, recently many of the development and government programs are being designed in such a way that if adopted, can tackle the problems associated with climate variability and change. The majority of rural farmers have now adopted these practices. However, the cost effectiveness of adopting these practices – a key ingredient to the policy-making processes – is challenging. The results presented in this report attempt to bridge the knowledge gap between the cost and effectiveness, using ex-ante cost-benefit analysis to assess the cost effectiveness of some of the proposed climate-smart agricultural practices. This study examines the private and social benefits and the costs of selected climate-smart agricultural practices as a step towards understanding their private and potential social benefits and costs and their implication in terms of deterring their adoption from the farmers’ viewpoint and any potential social benefits, if adopted

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

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

Effects of replacing fishmeal with black soldier fly larval meal in the diets of grower-finishing guinea fowls reared under tropical conditions

The study was conducted with the view to determine the impact of replacing fishmeal with black soldier fly larval meal (BSFLM) on growing guinea fowls. BSFLM replaced fishmeal (3% in the control diet) in the ratios of 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% to produce six dietary treatments, which were iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous. Two hundred and forty-eight-week old guinea fowls with mean live weight of 273.2 ± 10.9 g were tagged, weighted, and randomly assigned to 24 (6 × 4) floor pens; each pen was treated as a replicate. Feed and water were provided ad libitum during the entire period, which lasted 10 weeks. Feed consumption differed among the treatment groups (P = 0.0072) with the 100% fishmeal diets recording the lowest. Daily gain was significantly (P = 0.009) higher for birds fed high BSFLM diets compared to the control (100% fishmeal diet). The inclusion of BSFLM in the diets elicited positive linear effect on weight gains of the guinea fowls (R2 = 0.91) with increasing concentration resulting in higher live weight gains. The feed conversion ratio (FCR) also differed between treatments (P < 0.05) but similar for the 100% fishmeal (control) and 100% BSFLM diets. Organ and haematopoitic integrity were equally assured regardless of levels of the protein sources fed to the birds. Generally, meats from birds fed 60 to 100% BSFLM and from hens were more acceptable. A study to evaluate the economics of utilising BSFLM in guinea fowl production is recommended

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

Science-policy interactions for climate-smart agriculture uptake: lessons learnt from national science-policy dialogue platforms in West Africa

Science–policy interfaces are critical in shaping agricultural and environmental governance. However, connecting science with policy has always been a challenge for both scientists and policymakers. In Ghana, Mali and Senegal, the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) supported the creation of a multi-stakeholder national science-policy dialogue platforms on climate-smart agriculture (NSPDP-CSA) to use scientific evidence to create awareness on climate change impacts on agriculture and advocate for the mainstreaming of climate change and climate-smart agriculture (CSA) into agricultural development plans. Since their establishment, there is limited information as to how the modes of operation and achievements of the NSPDP-CSA improve our understanding of the sciencepolicy interfaces of agricultural and climate change decision making. This study aimed to use the evidence from the operations and achievements of the NSPDP-CSA to make recommendations for effective science-policy interaction on climate change and CSA. We used semi-structured questionnaire interviews and review of technical reports produced by the platforms to obtaining the information aforementioned. The results showed that using NSPDPCSA may be an innovative approach to effectively engaging policymakers/decision-makers for climate change and CSA mainstreaming into agricultural development policies and plans in Ghana, Mali and Senegal. For effective science-policy interaction, the study suggests the following recommendations: (a) Institutionalising the NSPDP-CSA through embedding them within national institutions improves their credibility, relevance and legitimacy among policymakers; (b) two-way communication may have a phenomenal advantage in the codevelopment of solutions that address climate change vulnerabilities and impacts; and (c) using relevant communication products and packaging CSA and climate change with evidence to align with country priorities will facilitate readily uptake in policy decision-makings. A framework of operation for the platforms was suggested based on lessons learnt from the 3 countries’ experiences and achievements

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