From Awareness to Action: What Drives Climate Change Adaptation among Smallholder Farmers in Ghana's Nkoranza South Municipality

Climate change continues to threaten smallholder agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, where rain-fed systems are highly sensitive to rainfall variability. This study examines the factors that shape the adoption of climate change adaptation strategies among smallholder farmers in the Nkoranza South Municipality of Ghana, a transitional agro-ecological zone that has received little farmer-level attention. Using a convergent mixed-methods design, the study combined a survey of 368 crop farming households with focus group discussions and key informant interviews, and it analysed the evidence through an integrated framework that joins Social Cognitive Theory with the concept of adaptive capacity. Adoption was widespread, reported by about four in five farmers, but concentrated in low-cost and labour-based practices such as organic manure application and adjusted planting dates, while capital-intensive options such as irrigation and agroforestry recorded low uptake. Awareness of specific adaptation strategies was more strongly associated with adoption than general awareness of climate change. Access to agricultural loans and to government or NGO support showed the strongest bivariate associations among the institutional factors, but in a multivariable logistic regression only loan access retained an independent effect, and awareness of specific strategies remained the strongest predictor of adoption. Male farmers and younger, less experienced farmers adopted at higher rates in bivariate tests, and the qualitative evidence traced these differences to unequal access to information, labour, and decision making rather than to willingness. The results indicate that adaptation in the study area depends jointly on practical knowledge of adaptation options and on the credit that helps farmers act on that knowledge.