2012 GGA/GGTA CONFERENCE

PAPER PRESENTATION BYI.Y. DADSON

&I.V. MENSAH

SOCIAL SCIENCE DEPT. UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA

TOPIC

• CLIMATIC VARIATIONS: PERCEPTIONS AND ADAPTIVE STRATEGIES OF FOOD CROP FARMERS IN THE BIBIANI-ANWHIASO-BEKWAI DISTRICT OF THE WESTERN REGION-GHANA

OUTLINE

• BACKGROUND• THE PROBLEM• RESEARCH QUESTIONS• STUDY AREA• METHODOLOGY• CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK• DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS• RECOMMENDATIONS • CONCLUSION

BACKGROUND

• According to Fellmann, Getis and Getis (2005), “climatic variation is the year-to-year changes in weather pattern”.

• Climate change according the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC, 2007) is “a 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”.

Level of atmospheric CO2 concentration ( NOAA) (http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/)

contd

• Rowntree et al; (2009), noted that human activities connected with economic development and industrialization are changing the world’s climate in ways that will have significant consequences for all living organisms, be they plants, animals or humankind.

• Developing countries with relatively limited technology to diversify their cropping system are more vulnerable and are likely to face the greatest crop failure due to drought, high temperatures, delayed rainfall and heavy rainstorm caused mostly by climatic variability.

• This calls for adaptive strategies to mitigate the impact

contd• Adaptive capacity is the ability of a system to adjust

to climate change including variability and extremes to moderate potential damage, to take advantage of opportunities, or to cope with the consequences (IPCC 2001).

• Studies have shown that without adaptation, climate change is generally detrimental to the agricultural sector; but with adaptation, vulnerability can largely be reduced (Easterling et al. 1993; Rosenzweig and Parry 1994; Smith 1996; Mendesohn 1998; Reilly and Schmmelpfennig 1999; Smit and Skinner, 2002 in Gbetibouo, 2009).

THE PROBLEM

• Agriculture in Ghana and perhaps the study area is dependent on rainfall.

• Rainfall has shown a discernible decrease for over two decades as against a corresponding increase in temperatures.

Table 1. Mean Annual Temperature and Rainfall pattern from 1980-2000 in the forest zones of Western Region including the Bibiani-Anwhiaso -Bekwai District

(Ghana Meteorological Agency, 2000/EPA, 2006)Year Mean Temp ( ) ℃ Mean Rainfall (mm)

• 1980 26.5 2134.8• 1981 26.8 1712.0• 1982 26.5 2258.9• 1983 26.7 1260.8• 1984 26.6 1943.6• 1985 26.1 1832.8• 1986 26.2 2057.1• 1987 26.8 2748.6• 1988 26.2 1787.9• 1989 26.6 1533.8• 1990 26.4 1385.1• 1991 26.6 1664.8• 1992 26.4 1849.3• 1993 26.4 2337.2• 1994 26.3 2322.7• 1995 26.8 1663.2• 1996 26.5 2161.3• 1997 26.8 2031.3• 1998 27.5 1169.2• 1999 26.8 1886.0• 2000 26.8 1425.3

contd• From 1980 to 2000, the number of years that

recorded rainfall averages below 2000mm is 13 as against 8 years averages above 2000mm.

• On the contrary temperature averages above 26.5 is 14 years as against 8 years averages ℃below 26.5 . ℃

• Future climate change scenarios developed also indicate that temperature will continue to rise on average by about 0.6 , 2.0 and 3.9 by the ℃ ℃ ℃year 2020, 2050 and 2080 respectively, in all agro-ecological zones in Ghana.

contd• Rainfall is also predicted to decrease on average

by 2.8%, 10.9% and 18.6% by 2020, 2050 and 2080 respectively in all agro-ecological zones (EPA Ghana, 2000).

• Local farmers are vulnerable to changes in climate be it excessive rainfall, extreme temperatures and drought.

• They lack effective adaptive strategies to deal with the situation hence there is likely to be high rate of crop failure.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS• What are the perceptions of food crop

producers/farmers in Bibiani, Anwhiaso-Bekwai District on climatic variations?

• To what extent do changes in climate influence food crop production in the study area?

• What are the adaptive/coping strategies of food crop farmers to climate change in the district?

THE STUDY AREA

• The district is located between latitudes 6˚ 28’N and longitudes 2˚ 20’W (source: www.ghanadistrict.com).

• Located at the north-eastern part of the Western Region in Ghana. It is bounded on the North by the Atwima Mponua District, South by the Wassa Amenfi, West by the Sefwi Wiawso District, East by the Denkyira North and Amansie East districts.

• Bibiani, the district capital is 88km from Kumasi and 356km from Sekondi-Tarkoradi.

• The district covers an area of 873 square kilometers representing 8.6% of the total land area of Western region.

MAP OF THE DISTRICT

METHODOLOGY

• This is largely a qualitative research. • Questionnaires, personal observations and

interviewing were used. • The main target population was food crop

farmers in the district. Some information were also obtained from the Ghana Meteorological Agency.

• Unfortunately, we could not get data on food production trend from the District Food and Agriculture Department.

contd• Thus 80 respondents mainly food crop farmers

were chosen through cluster and simple random sampling.

• The entire district was divided into three zones and 5 farming communities were selected from each zone.

• The zones are; Zone A Bibiani, Zone B Anhiawso and Zone C Bekwai.

• In Zone A, 6; respondents were selected while 5 were selected from each community in zones B and C.

Con’t

• In each community, respondent’s households were selected using simple random sampling techniques.

• The communities which participated in the survey are Bibiani, Kwamekrom, Kwaaso, Hwenampori , Lineso, Anhwiaso, Kyenkyenase, Fahiakobo, Wenchi, Pataboso , Bekwai, Kojina, Subri, Humjibre and Atronsu.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The conceptual framework on which this paper is situated is the Driving forces-Pressure-State-Impact- Response (DPSIR) model (OECD, 1993)

DRIVING FORCES: Basic needs e.g. food, energy generation, transport, industry agricultural, etc

PRESSURE: Human activities directly affect the environment e.g. Carbon dioxide or methane emissions, etc.

RESPONSE: Of society to solve the

problem e.g. alternative source of energy,

irrigation, improved seeds, drought resistant

crops, etc.

STATE: Observable changes in the

environment e.g. rising global temperatures, drought, excess rains,

etc

IMPACT:Effects of a changed

environment, e.g. decrease in agricultural production,

floods, etc

DISCUSSION OF PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

Age of respondents• Age Freq %• 15-20 3 3.7• 21-30 17 21.3• 30 & above 60 75.0

Number of years in farming• Years Freq %• 1-5 4 5• 6-10 8 10• 11-15 10 12.5• 16-20 8 10• 21+ 50 62.5

Age of Respondents

Number of Years Farmed

Perception on climate change

• Options Freq %

• Changing 13 16.3• Changed 63 78.7• The same 0 0• No idea 4 5

Perception on climate change

Evidence

• Decreasing rainfall, increasing air temperature, increasing sunshine intensity and prolonged dry season

• Inability to replant their dying cocoa farms due to high cocoa seedling mortality as a result of erratic rainfall and the prolonged dry conditions.

Con’t

• High incidence of rotten tomatoes is also attributable to the excessive rainfall in the hitherto short dry period between July and August.

• Some of the rivers that use to flow throughout the year in the communities dry up during the dry seasons in recent years.

Causes • Seventy-five percent (75%) cited human activities

such as bad farming practices, charcoal burning, bushfires and logging

• Twenty five percent (25%) also attributed to natural occurrences, punishment from God for the sins of mankind and a sign of the end of the world as predicted in the Bible.

• In terms of severity of climate change impacts, agriculture is said to suffer the most followed by forestry and water resources.

Effects on crops• Invasion of strange and uncontrollable kind

of weeds that tend to kill all the native weeds on the land during dry seasons. A very good example in the local parlance is “Onyame nwuii a menwuii” (I live as long as God lives) a creeping plant.

• Difficulty in predicting the weather to make decisions regarding the cropping season.

Con’t

• Occasional flooding often submerges some valuable agricultural land and therefore makes land per person insufficient; it also causes severe rotten to crops like cassava, and perishable vegetables like tomatoes and garden eggs.

• The incidence of diseases and pests, especially alien ones such as ‘Swollen Shoot’ which attacks cassava instead of cocoa

• Poor crop yield with marginal improvement

Main reasons for poor crop yield

• Sefwi Bekwai Zone 100% attributed to drought• Anwhiaso Zone 90% drought, 10% poor soils and

other causes• Bibiani Zone, 63.3% of respondents said drought,

33.3% poor soils and 3.4% mentioned pest, diseases and other factors.

• The general notion was that there is declining crop yield in the district which is mainly attributed to weather failure/drought hence climate change

Coping/adaptive strategies

• Most expect funds from government to buy improved seeds

• Most remain helpless• Some practise irrigation mainly on vegetable

farms• Others apply fertilizer• Early planting in waterlogged areas to avoid

floods and late planting immediately after the major rainy season

Irrigation and fertilizer application

IrrigationOption Frequency Percent

• Irrigation 54 55• No irrigation 36 45

Fertilizer applicationOption Frequency Percent

• Apply fertilizer 23 28.7• No fertilizer 57 71.3

Irrigation

Fertilizer application

RECOMMENDATIONS• Provision of farm inputs including improved

seeds/crops. • Irrigational facilities should also be made

available to farmers since climate induced drought (natural) cannot be averted by man.

• Human activities such as lumbering and bad farm practices should be stopped.

• Environmental laws be strictly enforced

Con’t

• Promotion of public environmental education• One important agricultural coping strategies

that is worthy of recommendation is the promotion and cultivation of crops that have shorter gestation periods and are drought resistant.

CONCLUSION

• Due to lack of effective mitigating strategies, most of the farmers become vulnerable to the effect of climate change. It is therefore imperative that knowledge of climate change will go a long way to help farmers adapt by putting in place local coping strategies so as to enable them reap the full benefit of their production.

END OF PRESENTATION

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