Agricultural Innovations for Climate
Change Adaptation and Food Security
in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and
The Gambia
African Technology Policy Studies Network

WORKING PAPER SERIES | No. 59
Gordon Akon-Yamga
Paul Boadu
Beatrice Darko Obiri
Joyce Amoako
Fatou Janha Mboob

Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change
Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The
Cases of Ghana and The Gambia

Gordon Akon-Yamga
Science and Technology Policy Reseach Institute (CSIR-STEPRI), Ghana
Paul Boadu
Science and Technology Policy Reseach Institute (CSIR-STEPRI), Ghana
Beatrice Darko Obiri
Forestry research Institute of Ghana (CSIR-FORIG), Ghana
Joyce Amoako
Water Research Insitute (CSIR-WRI), Ghana
Fatou Janha Mboob
Try Women's Group, The Gambia

The African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS) is a multidisciplinary network of researchers, private sector actors andpolicy makers promoting the generation, dissemination, use andmastery of science, technology and innovation (ST&I) for African
development, environmental sustainability and global inclusion.
ATPS intends to achieve its mandate through research, capacity
building and training, science communication/dissemination andsensitization, participatory multi-stakeholder dialogue,knowledge brokerage, and policy advocacy.
Published by the African Technology Policy Studies Network
P O Box 10081, 00100 GPO Nairobi Kenya
2011

Published by the African Technology Policy Studies Network

ISBN: 978-9966-030-14-6

Table of Contents
Acknowledgement

41.

Introduction

5

2.

Literature Review

8

3.

Methodology

15

4.

Fieldwork Data & Preliminary Analysis

175.

Preliminary Conclusions & Recommendations

33

Bibliography

35

Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia | 3

Acknowledgement
This paper was produced as part of the implementation of the African Technology
Policy Studies Network (ATPS) Phase VI Strategic Plan, 2008 – 2012 funded by
ATPS Donors including the Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken (DGIS) the
Netherlands, Rockefeller Foundation, amongst others. The authors hereby thankthe ATPS for the financial and technical support during the implementation of the
program. The Authors specially thank the ATPS Climate Sense Program Director,
Dr. Kevin Urama (ATPS); and the Program Coordinators including Prof. Michael
Madukwe (ATPS Nigeria); Dr. Musa Dube (ATPS Swaziland), Prof. Bob Orskov(ATPS, UK), Dr. Nicholas Ozor (ATPS), and Ms. Wairimu Mwangi (ATPS) for theirtechnical support during the research process.

4 | Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia

1. Introduction
Studies have shown that Ghana's climatic conditions have changed in the past
four decades (Agyeman-Bonsu et. al, 2008). Analysis by Agyeman-Bonsu et. al.
(2008) showed that both maximum and minimum air temperatures increased by
2.5 and 2.2°C respectively between 1961 and 2001. Reports by theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggest that agricultural
yields will suffer negative consequences if no serious intervention is carried out(IPCC, 2007). Therefore the impacts of climate change and variability willoutweigh economic and population growth factors, yet these factors may
intensify the impacts.
In The Gambia, the Government (2003) used forty years (1951-1990) of current
climate data to develop the baseline climate scenarios with the analysis showingthat in the 1951-1990 period, the behaviour of the climate of the country showedalmost equal distribution of wet/cool and dry/warm years. Thus, the 1951-1980
period was wetter and relatively warmer while the 1961-1990 period was drier andcooler. However between the two periods, the rainfall for the months of July and
September significantly decreased.
Furthermore, it is projected that by 2075, average mean temperature of The
Gambia will increase by a margin of between 3°C to 4.5°C depending the model
used, and by 2100 a decrease of 59% (HCGG), 17% (HCGS) and 15% (GFDL
equilibrium model), and an increase of about 15% (GFDL01) and 29% (CCCM)
about the 1951-1990 average rainfall amount are projected in The Gambia (TheGovernment of Gambia, 2003). On the impact of such change on foodavailability, The Government of Gambia (2003) predicts that all crop growthparameters (kg dm/ha) for the maize crop would undergo significant reductions
Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia | 5

under climate change. Furthermore, grain weight is estimated reduce lower thancurrent climate values; leaf and stem weights are also expected to be lower thancurrent climate values by amounts ranging from 18 – 35% and 17 – 34%,
respectively; and the nutritional value of the biomass products from maize will
also be decreased due to decrease in nitrogen content, a situation that is similar
for millet.
The impact of such changes and outcomes on society has often been seen as
normal and part of life. This is because livelihood options have turned into
adaptation strategies, where there is no clear transition, adaptation to extreme
events are considered as part of livelihoods. The riots and protest due to foodshortage and prices in 2007-2008 point to some of the signs of increasing foodinsecurity in many countries in sub-Sahara Africa, yet there exist innovations thatcan be used to stem the tide of food insecurity.
A recent study conducted by CSIR-STEPRI of Ghana (Obirih-Opareh et al., 2008)shows that there exists numerous agricultural innovations that have not beenused and yet they hold potential for improving food production in Ghana andAfrica. However it is not known which of these innovations are most suitable forclimate change adaptation. It is in this light that this research is founded; todocument indigenous and emerging innovations and good practices for climatechange adaptation and food security in Ghana and the Gambia.
1.1
Objectives
The main goal of the study was to support the ATPS Programme on Agricultural
Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa byachieving the following specific objectives:
Identify and document indigenous innovations and good practices by climatechange vulnerable communities for improved food security in Ghana and The
Gambia;Provide information on agricultural practices and activities of farmers towards
food security and climate change adaptation in Ghana and Gambia;
Identify and document emerging innovations suitable for climate change
adaptation in Ghana and The Gambia;
6 | Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia

Promote selected agricultural innovations through targeted training and fielddemonstrations with selected agriculture extension officers and farmers in Ghana
and The Gambia;
Establish collaborative network involving researchers, ministry of food andagriculture or its equivalent and farmers to enhance agricultural innovations forincreased productivity in the face of climate change; andProvide baseline information to support agricultural innovation programmes andthe implementation of the NEPAD CAADEP programme in the West Africa region
through popularization and policy advocacy.

Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia | 7

2. Literature Review
2.1. Innovation System
The concept of innovation system provides many opportunities for learning about
how a country's agricultural sector can make optimum use of new knowledge andto design new interventions that go beyond research and investments (World
Bank, 2007). Therefore agricultural innovation system can be seen as the best
approach to ensure food security in Africa. Innovation system thinking represents
a significant change from the conventional linear approach to research anddevelopment. It provides analytical framework that explore complex relationships
among heterogeneous agents, social and economic institutions, andendogenously determined technological and institutional opportunities. It
demonstrates the importance of studying innovation as a process in whichknowledge is accumulated and applied by heterogeneous agents, throughcomplex interactions that are conditioned by social and economic institutions(Agwu et. al., 2008).
Innovation is an interactive process involving various critical actors working in agiven socio-economic and cultural system to bring about improvements oradvances in the production of goods and services. It is a dynamic process and it
implies specific behaviours and performances, with obvious implications foroutcomes. The concept of Innovation System has become an importantframework for understanding technology development and diffusion in recent
times (Nelson, 1993; Mytelka, 2000; World Bank, 2007). The framework stresses
that innovation is neither research nor science and technology, but rather theapplication of knowledge (of all types) in production to achieve desired social or
economic outcomes. This knowledge might be acquired through learning,
research or experience, but until applied it cannot be considered innovation.
8 | Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia

While this knowledge can be brand new innovation often involves the reworkingof the existing stock of knowledge, making new combinations or new uses
(Edquist, 1997).
The origin of this framework is the concept of a national system of innovation(Freeman1988, and Lundval 1991). It emerged as a response to the limited
explanatory power of conventional economic models that view innovation as alinear process driven by the supply of research and development (R&D). Instead
the innovation systems framework conceptualised innovation in more systemic,interactive and evolutionary terms whereby networks of organisations, together
with the institutions and policies that affect their innovative behaviour andperformance, bring new products, new processes and new forms of organization
into economic use (Nelson and Winter 1982, Freeman 1988, Lundval 1992;
Edquist 1997).
Different approaches to promoting agricultural innovation have emerged sincethe 1980s. The period before the mid-1980s emphasised the creation of National
Agricultural Research Systems to strengthen research at the national level and toencourage technology transfer and invention. In the 1990s, this approachchanged to the pluralistic agricultural knowledge and information systems whichemphasised greater client participation and financing, technology adoption andadaptation, and knowledge exchange mechanisms. More recently, theagricultural innovation system approach incorporates major agents such asuniversities, firms and other organisations that can tap into the growing stock ofglobal knowledge to local needs, and create new technology and products.
Within the changing agricultural context, agricultural innovation systememphasises technology and knowledge generation and adoption rather thanstrengthening research systems and their outputs (Kim et. al., 2007).
The innovation concept has been used by Sahel and West Africa Club (SWAC,
2005) in a broad sense, integrating institutional, policy and organisationalinnovations. It includes:
i. Physical innovation (example: crop varieties, animal breeds, etc.);
ii. Institutional, social, organisational innovations (example: setting up
producers' networks, better organisation of input distribution networks, etc.);
iii. Innovations in terms of information and practices (example: cultural
practices).
Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia | 9

For each type of innovation, endogenous innovations (farmer innovations) canbe distinguished from exogenous innovations (innovations derived fromresearch, extension, private companies, and agribusiness, etc.).
2.2. Climate Change
The climate is a system involving highly complex interactions between theatmosphere, the oceans, the water cycle, ice, snow and frozen ground, the land
surface and living organisms. This system changes over time in response tointernal dynamics and variations in external influences such as volcanic
eruptions and solar radiation.
The atmospheric component is the most unstable and rapidly changing part ofthe climate system. The atmosphere is divided into five layers with different
temperature characteristics. The lower two—the troposphere and thestratosphere—have the most influence on the climate system. The troposphere
extends from the surface of the earth to an altitude of between 10 and 16 km.
Clouds and weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, and greenhousegases absorb heat radiated from the earth. The stratosphere, which extends fromthe boundary of the troposphere to an altitude of around 50 km, is the second
layer of the atmosphere. The stratosphere holds a natural layer of high ozone
concentrations, which absorb ultraviolet radiation from the sun. The balance ofenergy between the layers of the atmosphere is a major driver of atmosphericand ocean circulation, which leads to weather and climate patterns (IPCC 2007).
The Earth's climate has always changed and evolved. Some of these changes
have been due to natural causes but others can be attributed to human activities
such as deforestation and to atmospheric emissions, from, for example, industry
and transport, which have led to gases and aerosols being stored in theatmosphere. These gases are known as greenhouse gases (GHGs) because
they trap heat and raise air temperatures near the ground, acting like agreenhouse on the surface of the planet.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007) defines climatechange as “a change in the state of the climate that can be identified (for example,
by using statistical tests) by changes in the mean and/or variability of its
properties, and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer”.
Climate change may be due to natural internal processes or external influences,
10 | Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia

or to persistent anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere orland use. On the other hand, the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) defines climate change as “change of climate which
is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of
the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability
observed over comparable time periods” (UN 1992).
It is important to distinguish between climate change and climate variability.
According to the World Meteorological organisation (WMO, 2010) climate
variability refers to “variations in the mean state and other statistics (such as
standard deviations, the occurrence of extremes, etc.) of the climate on all
temporal and spatial scales beyond that of individual weather events. Variability
may be due to natural internal processes within the climate system (internalvariability), or to variations in natural or anthropogenic external forces(externalvariability)”. The UNFCCC makes a distinction between "climate change” which is
attributable to human activities altering the atmospheric composition, and"climate variability" attributable to natural internal climate system process.
However, in the context of this study there is no distinction between the two.
Making a distinction between climate change and variability will entail careful
comparison between observed changes and those that are expected to result
from external forcing. These expectations are based on physical understandingof the climate system, which is based on physical principles. This understanding
can take the form of conceptual models or it might be quantified with climate
models (IPCCC, 2007), but the respondents we envisaged to talk to mostly do nothave such understanding and therefore it would be difficult to them to make sucha distinction.
The warming of the climate system evident in the last half century is a result of the
cumulative effect of all the natural and human drivers that influence the amount ofwarming or cooling in the system. The dominant influence since 1750 has been
an increase in concentrations of carbon dioxide. Aerosols have had a net coolinginfluence, although this effect is poorly understood. Natural variability in solar
radiation has had a small warming influence, but there is a high level of
uncertainty in the magnitude of the effect (IPCC 2007).
According to the IPCC (2007), Observational evidence from all continents andmost oceans shows that many natural systems are being affected by regional
Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia | 11

climate changes, particularly temperature increases. It accordingly states that a
global assessment of data since 1970 has shown it is likely that anthropogenic
warming has had a discernible influence on many physical and biologicalsystems.
There are many forecasts and indeed recorded cases of dire consequences or
impacts of climate change. These, amongst many include:> A general reduction in potential crop yields in most tropical and sub-tropicalregions – for most projected increases in temperature;> A general reduction in potential crop yields in most regions in mid-latitudes,with some variations, for increases in annual average temperatures of morethan a few degrees Celsius;> Less water in many water-scarce regions, particularly in the sub-tropics;> Greater exposure to heat stress, vector-borne diseases such as malaria andwater-borne diseases such as cholera;> Increased risk of flooding of human settlements because of heavy
precipitation and sea-level rises – tens of millions of people will be affected;> Increased demand for energy for space cooling because of higher summer
temperatures.
> Increased demand for energy for space heating during sever winters.
2.3. Adaptation to Climate Change
Two main responses have been identified by which societies can respond toclimate change. These are adapting to its impacts and reducing the green housegas (GHG) emissions (mitigation), thus reducing the rate and magnitude ofchange. However, there is tension between these two-adaptation and mitigation(Henson, 2008). While mitigation seeks to limit climate change by reducing theemissions of GHG and by enhancing 'sink' opportunities, adaptation aims to
alleviate the adverse impacts through a wide-range of system-specific actions(Fussel and Klein, 2002).
The IPCC defines adaptation as “adjustments in ecological, social or economic
systems in response to actual or expected stimuli and their effects or impacts.
This term refers to changes in processes, practices and structures to moderatepotential damages or to benefit from opportunities associated with climatechange” (IPCC 2001).

12 | Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia

Albeit both mitigation and adaptation measures must be pursued to tackle theclimate change problem and to create an effective and inclusive international
climate change regime, more attention has been devoted to mitigation in the past,
both in scientific research and policy debate. Sensitivity to the issue of adaptation
has grown over the last couple of years, particularly after the IPCC Third
Assessment Report (TAR). Adaptation has now emerged as an urgent policy
priority, prompting action both within and outside the climate change
negotiations (Parry et al. 2005). According to Cohen et. al. (1998), one plausible
reason for the focus on adaptation could be that climate change emerged as aproblem related to the long-term disturbance of the global geo-biochemical
cycles and associated effects on the climate system.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
provides that all Parties must formulate and implement national or regional
programmes containing measures to facilitate adequate adaptation to climatechange (Art. 4.1. b). It lists specific domains in particular need of adaptation,
namely coastal zones, water resources, agriculture, and areas affected bydrought and desertification, as well as floods.
2.4. Food security
Food security has been defined by Cook and Frank (2008) as “Access by all
people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life. Food security
includes at a minimum:(i) The ready availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, and(ii) An assured ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways
(e.g., without resorting to emergency food supplies, scavenging, stealing,or other coping strategies)”.
The World Food Summit Plan of Action defines food security in the following
terms: “Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical andeconomic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs
and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (FAO, 1996). Food security
comprises four dimensions:(i) Adequacy of food availability;(ii) Stability of supply;(iii) Physical and economic accessibility of food; and(iv) Quality and safety of food.

Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia | 13

The standard definition of food security according to the World Bank (1986) is“access by all peoples at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life”.
Statistics of food security are usually computed for individual nation states. Thesemay be aggregated for the world's major regions to demonstrate interregional
disparities at global scales. National food security is a derivative of a balance
sheet in which the population nutritional requirements are balanced by supply
either from production or through international trade. Computed in per capita
terms, national food security, usually assumes equitable sharing of available foodstock between regions, between social classes, and between members of thesame household.
A food secured world cannot be adequately represented at either the regional or
the national level. The security envisaged should be at all levels of humanorganization, including the individual, the household and the community. At theindividual household level, appropriate and sufficient food could be secured withincome available for food purchases, from farmland harvests, or from a
combination of these and other sources. Therefore basically, food security is afunction of agricultural production, which may be constrained by physical,
biological and economic factors. However, a total failure of agricultural
production to provide the required food will not automatically result in foodinsecurity provided the household can earn enough from employment and otherengagements to purchase from the market.
FAO's methodology for evaluating the number of undernourished persons, whichtakes into account the amount of food available per person in a given country andthe extent of inequality of access to food. This approach is reinforced by the
emerging consensus that food insecurity in SSA is a product of both limited foodavailability and restricted access to food (FAO, 2006). Therefore, in this study
food security was analysed mostly from the point of view of availability andaccessibility.

14 | Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia

3. Methodology
The study was carried out in Ghana and The Gambia. Ghana lies on the southcentral coast of West Africa between latitudes 4°5'N and 11°5'N and longitude
3°5'W and 1°3'E. The Gambia is the smallest of the two countries(approximately11,000 km²), lying between latitude 13° and 14° North, and 17°
and 12° West. It consists of a narrow strip of land some 400 km long and 30 km
wide on both sides of The Gambia River.
Two methods were employed for this study. These were field survey and desk
research. These methods yielded both primary and secondary data. To allocate
the number of household heads for the field survey between Ghana and theGambia the ratio of the populations of the two countries was used. Therefore
relying on the ratio of the population of Ghana (23,350,927) to the Gambia(1,660,200) as the basis for allocating the number of households to be selectedfrom each country, 747 households were allocated to Ghana and 53 households
were allocated to the Gambia to complete the proposed overall sample size of
800. However it was realized 53 households was too low a sample and therefore
during the survey 100 households were selected from the Gambia and 746 from
Ghana.
In order to increase precision and reliability of the data and results of the survey,
stratification was employed to select the hoseholds. This was done by taking into
consideration the geographical distribution, ecological zones and population
distribution as the main control. In both countries, districts were grouped
according to their administrative regions. In Ghana, one district was selected
within each region using the simple random sampling technique. In the Gambia,
however, two regions were randomly selected initially and within these two
Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia | 15

regions, one district each was selected using the simple random sampling.
Within the selected districts a list of five major food producing communities was
obtained from the state ministry or department responsible for agriculture. From
this list some communities were randomly selected. The number of communities
selected per ecological zone or district depended on the total population percommunity and the total sample per ecological zone. Within each of the identified
communities, the survey team entered and met with the leader/head of thecommunity to introduce themselves, explain their mission to the leadership of thecommunity, seek the permission of the community to carry out the survey, and torequest for the assistance of someone who knows the community very well.
At the community level, an enlistment of the households was conducted with theassistance of a member of the community who knows it very well. This provided
the sampling frame of households at the community level from which thehouseholds interviewed were randomly selected. Once a household has been
selected, the whereabouts of the head was sought after exchanges ofpleasantries. In the absence of the head, the next most responsible person in thehousehold who must also be a farmer was selected and the questionnaireadministered to him or her. The questionnaire covered the demographic
characteristics of the respondent, agricultural activities of the household, farmers'
level of awareness of climate change, the household's access to food, theadaptation measures taken by farmers, the innovations of farmers and the extent
to which they network with others.
The data collected was entered, cleaned and analysed using STATA.

16 | Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia

4. Fieldwork Data & Preliminary
Analysis
4.1
Farm Characteristics
Majority of the farmers interviewed in Ghana were mainly engaged in crop
cultivation. Indeed 99.9% of the respondents were into crops cultivation as theirmain farming activity, whiles 0.1% was engaged mainly in livestock rearing. It
should however be added that many of those engaged in crop production as theirmain farming activity were also engaged in raising livestock on the side. Table 1
shows that most of the farms (74.1%) were small farms; being less than fivehectares under cultivation. On the other hand about a quarter of the farmers
cultivated medium sized farms of between five and twenty hectares, and only
0.7% of the respondents cultivated farms categorized as large, that is of size morethan 20 hectares. There were no large scale farmers among the respondents fromthe Gambia. About 49% of the respondents had small-scaled farm lands (lessthan 5ha) whereas 51% had medium-scaled farm lands (5-20ha). See Table 1. In
terms of ownership of the farms, many of the respondents (99.1%) worked on
their own farms although this number includes farms that belong to families.
About 0.7% of the respondents in Ghana said the ownership of their farms was
joint ownership whiles 0.3% of the respondents said their farms had foreign
ownership.
The main areas of farming focus of respondents in the Gambia were crops andlivestock. About 54% of the respondents were engaged in the cultivation ofvarious crops whereas 46% of them were in livestock. Farm lands used for
agricultural purposes by respondents in the Gambia were allprivately/familyowned.
Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia | 17

Table 1: Farm size
Ghana

The Gambia

Percentage

Percentage(n=746) .

(n=100)

Small-size < 5ha

74.1

49.0

Medium-sized 5 -20ha

25.2

51.0

Large-size >20ha

0.7

0

Total

100

100

Responses

4.2. Farmers' Level of Awareness of Climate Change
The survey sought to determine the level of knowledge of the climate change
phenomenon among famers and the experiences of farmers with respect to the
manifestation of climate change.
4.2.1. Farmers' Perception of Climate Change
The results from Ghana show that many of the farmers interviewed (60%) knew
and were able to describe climate change. However 40% of the respondents did
not know anything about climate change. The level of awareness among farmers
in the Gambia of climate change issues was very encouraging. About 91% of the
farmers interviewed revealed that they were aware of climate change whilst only
9% of them reported they know nothing about the issue. Farmers were further
asked whether in their view the current state of the climate would change for a'better' one that they knew some years back. To this, 74% of the respondents in
Ghana said yes, 11.4% said no and 14.6% said they do not know. For theGambia, a greater number (74%) of farmers believed there was the possibility forthe climate change to reverse in the near future. On the other hand, 25% of themwere uncertain about changes in the situation any time soon.
Additionally farmers were asked about their experiences with the onset of the last
rainy season preceding the survey. About 57% of the respondents indicated thatit did not rain at the right time at the last planting season to enable them farm. On

18 | Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia

the other hand, about 43% responded that the rains came at the right time in thelast planting season. Table 2 shows the disaggregation of the responses
according to the ecological zones in Ghana. It shows that farmers in the
Deciduous Forest and Transition Ecological Zones mostly reported that the rains
did not fall at the right time for them to start planting with 65% each answering“no”. These ecological zones were followed by Sudan Savannah with 60.6%,
Coastal Savannah with 52.4%, Rain Forest with 40.8% and the Guinea Savannah
Zone with 34.6% responding that the rains did not fall at the right time of theplanting season preceding the period of the survey (see Table 2a). Majority (74%)
of the farmers in the Gambia revealed that the rains occurred at the right time inthe last planting season before the survey year. On the other hand, 26% of them
however reported otherwise (Table 2b).
Table 2a: Onset of rains in the last planting season in Ghana byecological zone.
Ecological zone

Yes

No

Total

Coastal Savannah

48

52.0

100

Deciduous forest

34.15

65.9

100

Guinea Savannah

65.38

34.6

100

Rain Forest

59.21

40.8

100

Sudan Savannah

39.44

60.6

100

Transition Zone

35

65.0

100

All

43.16

56.84

100

Table 2b: Onset of rains in the last planting season in The Gambia.
Response

Freq

Per

Yes

74

74

No

26

26

Total

100

100

Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia | 19

In addition to the farmers' perception about climate change, especially using
rainfall and temperature as proxy indicators, farmers were asked if they havenoticed other changes in their environment. The results indicate that losses ofvegetation cover and wildlife dominated the responses from both Ghana and theGambia. In Ghana 78.7% mentioned loss of vegetation cover and wildlife whiles
4.8% responded that they have observed an increase in vegetation cover andwildlife. Farmers also responded that they have noticed an increase in thenumber of pests and diseases (1.7%), whiles some responded that they havenoticed a decrease in the number of extreme weather events (1.2%). See Table
3a.
In the Gambia, some noticeable environmental changes that farmers haveobserved over the past years have been decrease in vegetation cover and wildlife
and also decrease in the frequency of extreme weather conditions. On thecontrary some farmers (14.4%) held it that there has been an increase invegetation cover and wildlife numbers. Farmers who hold that vegetation cover
and wildlife amount has been decreasing were 84.4% of the total number of
respondents (Table 3b).
Table 3a: Other perceived environmental changes in Ghana
Responses

Frequency

Percentage

Vegetation cover and wildlife amount is decreasing

587

78.7

Vegetation cover and wildlife amount is increasing

36

4.8

Decrease in frequency of extreme weather events

9

1.2

Increase in the number of some pest/diseases

13

1.7

Other

101

13.5

Total

746

100

20 | Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia

Table 3b: Other perceived environmental changes in the Gambia
Observations

Frequency

Percentage

Vegetation cover and wildlife amount is decreasing

76

84.4

Vegetation cover and wildlife amount is increasing

13

14.4

Decrease in frequency of extreme weather events

1

1.1

Total

90

100

4.2.2 Perceived Impact of Climate Change
Figure 1 shows that farmers in Ghana perceived the loss of forest resources as the
major impact of climate change in their localities. The figure indicates that thetrend of forest loss has consistently increased between 2005 and 2009.
Furthermore, the figure shows that flooding, long period of the dry season, soil
infertility, drying of rivers, long period of rains, decrease in farm yields and delaysin the onset of rainfall during the rainy season. The Figure clearly shows that the
responses of the farmers indicate that the trend of these impacts has being for theworse from 2005 to 2009.

Figure 1: Farmers’ perception of impact of climate change

Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia | 21

4.2.3 Famers' Household Access to Food
As an indicator of household food security in the study areas in Ghana, famers
were asked about the frequency with which they had problems meeting theirhousehold feeding. Figure 2 shows that majority of the respondents (45.3%) said
they sometimes experienced problems with feeding in their households.
Furthermore, 6.3% said they often faced problem with household feeding, 5.4%
said they always faced problems, whiles 14.6% said they seldom encounteredproblems. Therefore overall, this means that 72.6% of the respondents have insome form experienced problems with meeting household feeding.

Figure 2: Frequency of household feeding in Ghana within the year
preceding the survey
In the Gambia, Table 4 shows that majority of the farmers (75%) sometimes find it
difficult meeting the food needs of their family. Very few of the farmers (11%) neverfaced any challenge in meeting the food needs of their households.
Respondents who seldom faced problems of meeting their household foodneeds accounted for 10%. However those who regularly faced the problem of
meeting their food needs accounted for only 1% (Table 4).

22 | Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia

Table 4: Frequency of household feeding in the Gambia within theyear preceding the survey
Response

Frequency

Percentage

Never

11

11

Seldom10

10

Sometimes

75

75

Often

1

1

Always1

1

No response

2

2

Total

100

100

Table 5: Frequency of household feeding by ecological zones in
Ghana within the year preceding the survey
Ecological Zone

Never

SeldomSometimes Often

Always

Total

Savannah

16.0

13.5

59.5

6.0

5.0

100

Deciduous forest

33.5

16.7

36.9

5.2

7.7

100

Savannah

32.7

11.5

38.5

11.5

5.8

100

Rain Forest

22.4

6.6

59.2

6.6

5.3

100

Sudan Savannah

32.4

12.7

40.9

12.7

1.4

100

Transition Zone

45.0

23.3

31.7

0.0

0.0

100

Total

28.4

14.6

45.3

6.3

5.4

100

CoastalGuineaAgricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia | 23

When considered along the ecological zones in Ghana, the indication is that the
problem of meeting household feeding is more pronounced in the Coastal
Savannah Ecological Zone where only 16% of the respondents said they havenever experienced problems with meeting their household food needs, followedby the Rain Forest Zone with 22.4%; the Sudan Savannah Zone with 32.4%; theGuinea Savannah Zone 32.7%; Deciduous Forest Zone with 33.5%; and theTransition Zone with 45% of the respondents saying they have never experienced
problems meeting their household feeding requirements (see Table 5). In termsof the severity of the problem with meeting household feeding requirements,
respondents in the Deciduous Forest Zone recorded the highest responses for
those who always faced problems with meeting household feeding, followed by
the Guinea Savannah, Forest and the Sudan Savannah Ecological Zones (seeTable 5).

Figure 3:Farmers’ comparison of current food situation ofhousehold to previous year in Ghana

24 | Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia

Figure 4: Farmers’ comparison of current food situation ofhousehold to previous year in Gambia
Notwithstanding the status of food availability in the household of the
respondents, a relative majority (43%) of the famers indicated that the household
food situation at the time of the survey was a little worse than the previous year;
21% responded that the situation has not changed for them; 19% said thesituation has improved a little for them; 15% said the situation is much worse; 10%
said the situation is much better; and 1% said they cannot tell whether theirhousehold food situation has changed between the two periods (see Figure 3).
Gambian farmers' food situation in the year the survey was conducted was
generally much better than the year before the survey. This is asserted by the
number of farmers (64%) who responded positively to the fact that their foodsituation in the year of the survey was much better than that of the previous year.
About 27% of the farmers agreed that their food situation currently is a little better
than the previous year. Therefore, 91% of the respondents in the Gambia say theirfood situation currently has improved over the previous year. On the other hand,
only 4% of the respondents gave indication that their food needs have become
worse (Figure 4)

Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia | 25

4.3

Famers Adaptive Responses to Climate Change

4.3.1 Farmers' Adaptive Responses to Erratic Rainfall Pattern
Farmers' adaptive responses to erratic rainfall patterns were examined. Table 6a,
it is illustrates that the relative majority of the framers interviewed during thesurvey in Ghana (29.8%) said they did nothing in seasons where they had little
rainfall. Other farmers said they regularly weeded their farms (22.7%); applied
fertilizer (10.2%); irrigated their farms (8.7%); early cultivation; spraying withagro-chemicals (2.1%); and the application of manure (1.8%). It is interesting tonote that the use of irrigation as an adaptive response to low rainfall has notcaught on with farmer respondents in Ghana.
The situation was no different in the Gambia as majority of the respondents there(33%) also did nothing. About 17% of them said they provide water to theirlivestock whereas 7% consult with the agricultural extension agents and 4% pray
to God for relief (Table 6b).
When it comes to farmers' response to excessive rainfall, the results show thesame trend in both countries. In Ghana most the respondents (49.9%) said they
did nothing when their farms and livestock come under excessive rainfall;
followed by 18.1 who said they usually construct trenches and drains on theirfarms for the excess water to flow away. Other responses of Ghanaian
respondents included frequent weeding of the farms (4.7%), early harvesting(1.6%) and replanting of drowned crops (1.3%). On the other, 21.3% of the
respondents said they do not experience heavy rains (Table 7a).
For the Gambia, most of the respondents did not answer this question, whiles
32% of them said they report to the Veterinary Officers; an indication that during
such occasions the livestock frequently get sick. Additionally, 23% said theyusually do nothing about the excess rainfall (Table 7b).

26 | Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia

Table 6a: Farmers' adaptive responses to low/ little rainfall in
Ghana
Response

Freq.

Per.

No response
Application of fertilizer
Application of manure
Create mounds
Cultivate drought resistant varieties
Early cultivation
Early harvesting
Good spacing
Inter cropping
Irrigation
Mulching
Nothing
Planting in rows
Pray for God's intervention
Provide water for livestock
Pruning
Regular weeding
Replanting
Shifting cultivation
Spraying of agrochemicals
Treating seeds before planting

99
76
14
2
41
2

13.3
10.2
1.8
0.3
5.5
0.3

1
3
2
65
12
222
2
2
6
1
169
7
3
16

0.1
04
0.3
8.7
1.6
29.8
0.3
0.3
0.8
0.1
22.7
0.9
0.4
2.1

1

0.1

Total

746

100

Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia | 27

Table 6b: Farmers' adaptive responses to low/little rainfall in theGambiaResponse

Freq.

Per.

Nothing33

33

Pray to God

44

Seek advise from agriculture extension agents

7

7

Supplement feed and water for livestock

17

17

Water the livestock and provide extra

33

No response

36

36

Total

100

100

28 | Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia

Table 7a: Farmers' adaptive response to excessive rainfall
Response

Freq.

Per.

Apply cow dung2

0.3

Construct trenches

135

18.1

Early harvesting

12.6

Feed animals

2

0.3

Frequent weeding

35

4.7

Green belt

0.1

House livestock7

0.9

Mulching

2

0.3

Nothing372

49.9

Pruning3

0.4

Raise beds

0.1

Relocate

0.1

Replanting10

Set fire to provide warmth
invoke the spirits of our ancestors

1.3
0.1

2

Creates terrace on the field

0.3
0.1

Never experienced such events

159

21.3

Total

746

100

Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia | 29

Table 7b: Farmers' adaptation to excessive rainfall

4.4

Response

Freq.

Per.

Construct trenches

55House livestock

5

5

Increase farming area

1

1

Nothing23

23

Report to veterinary officers

32

32

No response

34

34

Total

100

100

Agricultural Innovation

4.4.1 Famers' Innovations
The results from Ghana show that not many farmers had introduced innovations
on their farms as a response to climate change. Indeed about 79% of the
respondents said they have not introduced any innovations whereas about 21%of the respondents said they had. Table 8 a shows that majority of the those who
introduced innovations got some new improved crop varieties and or livestock
breeds. Other innovations included new information about agricultural activities
and introduced improved farm tools and practices (Table 8a).

30 | Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia

Table 8a: Farmers' innovation in products and services within thepast three to five years in relation to climate change in Ghana
Innovation in product or service

Yes (%)New or improved crop/livestock breed

334(44.8)

No (%)

412(55.2)
New or improved farm tool/practice136(18.2)

610(81.8)

New Information

139(18.6)607(81.4)

New market products93(12.5)653(87.5)

Upgraded machinery or equipment on
your farm within the past years

88(11.8)658(88.2)

Table 8b: Farmers' innovation in products and services within thepast three to five years in relation to climate change in theGambiaInnovation in product or service

Yes %

No %

New or improved crop/livestock breed87

13

New or improved farm tool/practice24

76

New Information

24

76

New market products

298

Upgraded machinery or equipment on
your farm within the past 3 - 5 years

496

Similarly, in the Gambia, 72% of the respondents said they have not introduced
any innovations whereas 28% said they had introduced some innovations in theirfarming activities. Table 8b shows the specific types of innovations they have
Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia | 31

introduced over the past three to five years. The table shows that the mostintroduced innovations have been on improved crops and livestock breeds,
improved farm tools or practices and new information on agricultural activities.

32 | Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia

5. Preliminary Conclusions& Recommendations
Farmers in Ghana and the Gambia have perceived that the climate is changing
and this is manifested in the form of erratic rainfall patterns and risingtemperatures. Farmers have also identified other environmental challnges suchas loss of vegetation cover and wildlife in their communities, although it may
difficult to ascribe these to the effects of climate change.
Furthermore, farmers reckon the impacts of climate change on their farming
activities, however, many of them did nothing to respond when their farms receive
little rainfall, excessive rainfall, or when their crops and livestock are attacked bydiseases and pests. Even for many of those farmers who did something, they
have many times reported to the Agriculture Extension Agents or bought andapplied fertilizer and agrochemicals.
The Study has shown that farmers do not see the impact of climate change as athreat that will prevail for a long time and thus may be the reason for them doing
nothing when they are affected but hoping that the situation will change for the
better.
Notwistanding, farmers have introduced some innovations in their farming
activities to help improve on food production. However it is not clear if these
innovations were responses to the impact of climate change since most of the
farmers alluded that they ususally did nothing when they are afflicted by extreme
weather events.

Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia | 33

Therefore considering that there are innovations/technologies that have beendeveloped by research institutions in Ghana and the Gambia, it is recommended
that in the short to medium term, the agriculture extension agents be trained onsome of these innovations/technologies to enable them reach farmers with these
innovations. In the long term, there are some innovations/technologies that needcapital investments to deploy. In this case, there is need for stronger
collaborations to be established between the research intitutions, civil society
and the private sector to to bring these technologies to farmers.

34 | Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia

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36 | Agricultural Innovations for Climate Change Adaptation and Food Security in Africa: The Cases of Ghana and The Gambia

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