National Climate-Smart Agriculture and Food Security Action Plan of Ghana (2016-2020)

The policy document – National Climate-Smart Agriculture and Food Security Action Plan of Ghana (2016-2020) – provides the implementation framework for an effective development of climate-smart agriculture in the ground. It formulates specific strategies that will contribute developing climate-resilient agriculture and food systems for all agro-ecological zones, as well as the human resource capacity required for a climate-resilient agriculture promotion in Ghana. The action plan is therefore an effort to translate to the ground level the broad national goals and objectives in climate-smart agriculture. Its development has been made possible through the active engagement of various public and private institutions and organizations in Ghana. The methodology comprised desk research, data collection through interviews and participatory workshops and small group meetings. A review of relevant agricultural policy documents such as the Food and Agriculture Sector Development Policy (FASDEP), the METASIP and the Agriculture Sustainable Land Management Strategy and Action Plan was done to analyse the current national agricultural policy environment. Participatory workshops were organized to bring representatives of stakeholder organizations together to discuss various components of the action plans and prepare inputs. These stakeholder consultation workshops were used to carry out prioritization of the action areas by the agro-ecological groupings. The stakeholders included farmers, small-scale agro-entrepreneurs, women groups and local government authorities. In addition, a validation workshop was held to provide a platform for a final discussion of the draft Action Plan with key stakeholders. It brought together representatives from the relevant ministries and public institutions including MoFA, MESTI, NDPC, private sector entities and farmer-based organizations. The Action Plan defined implementation programmes in the respective agro- ecological zones and in the various districts. Activities defined in the action plan have been developed on the premise that the eight programme areas of the Agriculture and Food Security focus area of the NCCP, provide a useful framework for detailing the specific activities and their corresponding implementing agencies. Other key components discussed the cross-cutting issues in the implementation of the plan and the monitoring and evaluation system. What remains crucial now is the allocation of resources to effectively implement the plan. In this regards, the lessons from the prioritization of the action areas by the stakeholders are instructive. Each of the three agro-ecological zones has action areas of emphasis. However, the development and promotion of climate-resilient cropping systems is important for all three zones and national efforts to focus on this since it is at the foundation of food security. More specifically, for the Savannah Zone, water conservation and irrigation systems are critical. For the Transition Zone, the development of livestock production system is important whilst for the Forest Zone, capacity development is a priority. The key message from the prioritization is that, it guides the formulation of the location-specific activities to address climate change and therefore engenders effective allocation of national resources. What needs to be underscored is the fact that, it is not the formulation of plans that creates impact. It is the dedicated implementation and commitment to the ideals and principles undergirding the plans that bring results. The earnest hope is to have commitment manifested with this national action plan

Climate Change Adaptation Policy in Ghana: Priorities for the Agriculture Sector

This report is intended to complement the 2011 CCAFS publication “State of Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Efforts for Agriculture in Ghana” (Domozoro 2011). It provides relevant updates regarding the policies, projects, or initiatives introduced therein, and an assessment of the evolving political scenario. Specifically, this document presents an objective look at 17 key policy documents within three thematic areas: (1) governance, (2) agriculture, and (3) climate change institutions in Ghana. Several key projects are also included in this analysis given their relevance and status within Ghana’s agricultural adaptation regime. A discussion of the institutional arrangements in each of the thematic areas is provided first, along with a short description of each of the 17 policies and projects. Then, in the following analysis section, objectives and priorities for each of the policies are outlined, together with their evolution over time, intending to identify the temporal shifts in agricultural climate change policy direction in the country. Policy interplay between and within these thematic areas is also addressed. Power and influence dynamics between actors in Ghana’s climate change adaptation regime are discussed in the following section and the results of a Multilevel Stakeholder Influence Mapping (MSIM) exercise are provided. Finally, a discussion of key challenges and recommendations are provided, as identified through semi-structured interviews with actors across the country’s adaptation regime

Climate adaptation and agriculture: Solutions to successful national adaptation plans

The purpose of this brief is to share insights on agriculture and NAPs with national-level decision makers in developing countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), multilateral agencies, UNFCCC negotiators and donors. This brief explores how countries are overcoming the biggest challenges in developing NAPs, outlines examples of successful cross-sector adaptation planning, explores influence and leverage necessary for successful NAP processes, and offers specific recommendations

National report of Ghana

In Ardakanian, R.; Sewilam, H.; Liebe, J. (Eds.). Mid-term-proceedings on capacity development for the safe use of wastewater in agriculture: a collaboration of UN-Water members and partners - FAO, WHO, UNEP, UNU-INWEH, UNW-DPC, ICID, IWMI. [Project report]. Bonn, Germany: United Nations University. UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC).UNW-DPC Proceedings Series No.

National report of Ghana.

In Ardakanian, R.; Sewilam, H.; Liebe, J. (Eds.). Mid-term-proceedings on capacity development for the safe use of wastewater in agriculture: a collaboration of UN-Water members and partners - FAO, WHO, UNEP, UNU-INWEH, UNW-DPC, ICID, IWMI. [Project report]. Bonn, Germany: United Nations University. UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC).UNW-DPC Proceedings Series No.

West African agriculture and climate change: Ghana. Summary note

This summary note is an excerpt from the chapter on Ghana that will appear in the peer-reviewed IFPRI monograph, West African Agriculture and Climate Change: A Comprehensive Analysi