Rural Farmers’ Approach to Drought Adaptation: Lessons from Crop Farmers in Ghana

Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa is considered to be highly vulnerable to climate change-related disasters particularly drought. Farmers in Ghana have learnt to co-exist with it by resorting to various approaches. This study sheds light on farmers’ adaptation to drought in Ghana. The cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data from a random sample of 326 farmers and six purposively selected lead farmers from six farming communities. Questionnaire and in-depth interviews were used for data collection. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study revealed a significant variation between locations and use of drought adaptation approaches. The study showed that the most common drought adaptation measures comprise locating farms on riverine areas, drought monitoring, formation of farm-based organizations for dissemination of climate information, application of agro-chemicals, changing planting dates, cultivating different crops, integrating crop and livestock production, changing the location of crops, diversifying from farm to non-farm income-generating activities, and cultivation of early maturing crops. Therefore, it was recommended, among other things, that Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) should assist the government to construct small-scale irrigation facilities and provide drought-resistant crops to further boost the capacity of farming communities in Ghana.