Agro-Diversity in the Forest-Savannah Transition Zone of Ghana: A Strategy for Food Security against Climatic and Socio-Economic Stressors

Jesse S Ayivor,Benjamin D Ofori,Chris Gordon,Dzidzo R Yirenya-Taiwiah,Opoku Pabi

doi:10.5539/enrr.v6n1p1

Abstract

<p class="1Body">Food security is a major issue affecting about 239 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, local ecosystems-based adaptive strategies for reducing the impact of climate change and other stressors on food production systems are very relevant in the national food security agenda. This study assessed how farmers in communities of the environs of the Kogyae Strict Nature Reserves in the forest-savanna transition zone of Ghana exploit a range of options for food production that spread and reduce risks and ensure sustainability of the local environment. Through a cross-sectional survey involving focus group discussions, institutional data search and on-site observations, the study investigated different ways to which the natural diversity of the environment has been used by farmers to enhance farm productivity and farmer income. The study observed that climate variability, land expropriation for protected area establishment, inappropriate use of farm technology and low pricing for farm produce pose as major threats to sustainable agriculture in the area. These constraints have compelled farmers to adopt a range of agro-diversity practices for increased farm productivity and income. They include introduction of new crop varieties, adoption of innovative farm management practices, diversified farm fields and sequential cropping systems. The study noted that the diversified systems have boosted farmer productivity and incomes and contributed to their socio-cultural needs. The study recommends greater crop intensification through the use of appropriate technologies and improved access to markets to consolidate farmer gains and livelihoods as well as ensuring food and nutritional security.</p>

Highlights

1.1 Changing Environmental Conditions and Threats of Food securityMost natural resource-dependent agrarian societies have limited asset portfolios needed to adequately cope with and adjust to climate change and its associated impacts
Local ecosystem-based strategies aimed at maintaining the adaptability of food production systems to reduce the impact of these stressors become very relevant in the national food security agenda
Drawing from Brookfield and Stocking (1999), we developed a model (Figure 1) that comprises most of the principal elements of the Agro-diversity framework, but modified to suit the local context

Summary

Introduction

1.1 Changing Environmental Conditions and Threats of Food securityMost natural resource-dependent agrarian societies have limited asset portfolios needed to adequately cope with and adjust to climate change and its associated impacts. Local ecosystem-based strategies aimed at maintaining the adaptability of food production systems to reduce the impact of these stressors become very relevant in the national food security agenda One such strategy is agro-diversity, which under changing environmental conditions, provides nutritional needs, reduce production risk, enhance the ability to cope with changes, and mitigate disasters (Liang, 2002). Agro-diversity, in this context, refers to “the many ways in which farmers use the natural diversity of the environment for production, including their choice of crops and their management of land, water, and biota as a whole’’ (Brookfield & Padoch, 1994, p 9) It encompasses diversity of resource management and cropping systems, including indigenous knowledge, the local genotypes of food crops, intercropping and agroforestry systems. It emphasizes farmers’ resource management as a whole, and holds promise for conservation of biodiversity, protection of important land use systems, control of land degradation as well as enhancement of food security and rural livelihoods (Liang, 2002). Kremen, Iles and Bacon (2012) explained the concept in a narrower sense to mean “diversified farming systems” but maintained the key defining elements of agro-diversity, which include functional biodiversity at multiple spatial and/or temporal scales through practices developed by way of traditional and/or agroecological scientific knowledge

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Conclusion