Climate Evidence: Sustaining Ghana’s farming glory under climate stress

Climate variability has become one of the most destabilizing forces confronting Ghana’s agriculture sector, which contributes about 20 percent of GDP and employs more than a third of the national workforce.

Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, prolonged dry spells and shifting growing seasons are steadily eroding yields and confidence in farming.

According to the Ghana Meteorological Agency and regional climate assessments, average temperatures in Ghana have increased by about 1°C over the past six decades, while rainfall patterns have grown increasingly unpredictable.

The World Bank projects that without adaptation, climate change could reduce crop yields in Sub-Saharan Africa by up to 20 percent by 2050.

For Ghana’s predominantly rain-fed agricultural system, where less than 3 percent of arable land is under irrigation, the stakes are particularly high.

As harvests become uncertain, young people increasingly turn away from agriculture, perceiving it as high risk and low return.

Experts point to an aging agricultural population, a demographic shift that raises urgent sustainability concerns, and insist that reversing agriculture’s decline under climate stress demands bold, coordinated national action.

“Unfortunately, if you check our agriculture population, you’ll realize that over 80 percent of our farmers are people who are aged 65 and above; and that is dangerous,” noted Bismark Owusu Nortey, Executive Director of Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana.

National labour data consistently show that youth participation in primary agriculture has been declining, even as youth unemployment and underemployment remain pressing concerns.

Bismark Nortey says attracting young people into agriculture remains a major hurdle. Beyond access to finance and infrastructure, climate risk looms large.

“Now the question is why are we not getting young people actively participating?” he quizzed. “Aside the financing, the infrastructure which is not there, the risk of climate change and the fact that the youth are not able to appreciate and use the available technologies to integrate farming into their system is a big challenge that we need to address.”

In Techimantia in the Tano South Municipality of the Ahafo Region, farmer Nana Owusu Debright describes the harsh reality on the ground. When the rains delay, livelihoods stall, and local economies slow.

“We are sowing our seed before the rain; so one of the major problems is rainfall. Right now we are waiting for water, if it rains today, none of us the community people will sit at home tomorrow; they will go to farm to sow,” he expressed.

His experience reflects broader vulnerability across cocoa, maize, and vegetable-producing belts where rainfall onset and cessation have become less predictable.

For agronomist Dr Michael Odenkey Quaye of the Department of Agriculture Science Education at the University of Education, Winneba, climate change presents both a challenge and an untapped opportunity. Global research increasingly highlights climate-smart agriculture combining productivity, adaptation and mitigation as a pathway to resilience.

He argues that innovation, particularly climate-smart solutions, could open new pathways for youth participation.

“People can set up businesses that produces biochar, which is technically charcoal that can be used as soil amendment; something we can put into the soil and it improves the physical and chemical properties of the soil, increases yield. So as a climate intervention, biochar can be an entrepreneurial opportunity for young people,” said Dr Odenkey Quaye.

Biochar, promoted in several climate adaptation frameworks, enhances soil fertility while sequestering carbon, aligning productivity with environmental sustainability.

But transformation, he insists, will require deliberate policy shifts, making agriculture profitable and future-ready. That includes strengthening school curricula to integrate agri-entrepreneurship, improving access to land and farm inputs, expanding irrigation infrastructure, and guaranteeing markets for produce.

Agricultural economist, Dr Jonas Osei-Adu, believes youth inclusion is possible, but only if climate-smart agriculture policies move beyond rhetoric. Ghana has launched several initiatives, including the Planting for Food and Jobs programme and green economy strategies, yet implementation gaps persist.

“It’s about risk. If the youth goes for a loan [to venture farming] and has to depend on rain, how would he or she be motivated?” he quizzed. “We need to move away from rain fed agriculture to irrigation.”

Expanding irrigation coverage, experts argue, would significantly reduce climate risk exposure and improve creditworthiness for young farmers.

Opportunities, however, extend far beyond tilling the soil, says Electronic and Communication Engineer Dr Kwame Onwona-Simpe. Across Africa, digital agriculture is projected to become a multi-billion-dollar industry, driven by precision farming tools, climate advisory services, remote sensing, drone technology and agribusiness platforms.

He points to technology-driven roles across the agriculture value chain, from precision farming to climate monitoring systems, as viable entry points for young professionals.

“The agriculture value chain is wide and almost every skill in visible. Today we are having youth unemployment, but everybody can be captured in the agriculture sector and that could save us the unemployment and other social vices,” he said.

As climate stress intensifies, the future of Ghana’s agriculture hinges not only on rainfall patterns, but on policy clarity, innovation, risk-sharing mechanisms and the courage to reposition farming as a resilient and profitable enterprise for the next generation.

Bismark Nortey cautions that youth engagement will require structured, strategic support to scale climate-smart technologies and ensure sustainability.

“If you look at the policy space, we have a lot of policy guidelines, including the Green Jobs Strategy and the Youth Employment strategy. All these policy documents clearly state what should be done to integrate climate smart technologies, but unfortunately, the youth are not even aware; there is no policy space for then to go and find solace or support in training, capacity and linkage to opportunity for them.

“We could create a hub, like a resource hub, where these youth would be able to go there and seek information, seek the right channels that they can use to expand the work that they are doing,” he suggested.

Sustaining Ghana’s farming glory under climate stress will therefore require more than hope for rainfall. It demands investment in irrigation, innovation ecosystems, accessible finance, and structured youth engagement, turning climate risk into opportunity and securing the future of food production.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.