Projected rainfall changes and their implications for rainfed agriculture in northern Ghana

Downscaling of an ensemble of eight Regional Climate Models forced with five Global Climate Models was performed for the emission scenarios pathways RCP 2.6 and 8.5 using observed daily rainfall data from 1980 to 2014 over northern Ghana. Results indicate an increasing trend in annual total rainfall, higher inter-annual variability and a higher frequency of extremes under both scenarios. Smallholder farmers are likely to be negatively impacted as increases in global temperature, elevated carbon levels and wet spells could damage crops and pasture composition.