Abstract
This study examined the adaptation strategies of maize farmers to climate change and variability in the Eastern Region of Ghana using primary data collected from 150 maize farming households by the administration of structured questionnaires. The results of the multinomial logit regression revealed that rainfall perception, access to credit, and farming experience significantly influenced the adoption of recommended agricultural practices, whereas the adoption of soil-related strategies is influenced by gender and rainfall perception. Farming experience and rainfall perception influenced the adoption of improved varieties strategies. This study highlights the need for the development of water resources for maize production in the context of the changing climate. In this respect, the crucial roles of the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority, the agricultural extension division of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, and other international organizations such as the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the World Bank regarding the development of irrigation facilities and the associated capacity building of the farmers are very important. Finally, the formation of Water User Associations for the smallholder farmers regarding the usage and maintenance of the irrigation facilities would be a step in the right direction.
Highlights
The commencement of the raining season directly influences farm management practices from sowing to the last stage of crop development and this significantly influences the probability of droughts and crop yield [1]
This study examined the adaptation strategies of maize farmers to climate change and variability in the Eastern Region of Ghana using primary data collected from 150 maize farming households by the administration of structured questionnaires
This study assessed the percentage of the smallholder farmers adopting each of the identified climate change adaptation strategies using descriptive statistics; determined factors influencing farmers’ adoption of climate adaptation strategies using a multinomial logit regression model; and identified and ranked the constraints militating against maize farmers’ adoption of adaptation strategies using the Kendall’s Coefficient of Concordance
Summary
The commencement of the raining season directly influences farm management practices from sowing to the last stage of crop development and this significantly influences the probability of droughts and crop yield [1]. It is important to know whether the rains are continuous and enough to ensure enough and consistent soil moisture during planting in order to avoid total crop failure [2]. Over the past few years, climate-related crop failure due to episodes of late rains for planting, variability in the pattern and levels of rainfall, and intermittent droughts and floods in Ghana have been a common phenomenon [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]. The effect of climate change and variability is severe in the agricultural sector in Ghana. Smallholder agriculture is characterized by reliance on rainfall, limited use of improved seeds, fertilizer, and mechanization for production, thereby making productivity levels below the achievable levels [6,7,8,9,10]
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