Mapping vulnerability of smallholder agriculture in Africa: Vulnerability assessment of food crop farming and climate change adaptation in Ghana

Although climate change impact on agriculture and cropping systems have been extensively researched in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), crop specific vulnerability assessment to specific climate change induced extremes has been least explored and limited. Therefore, this study, conducted in the Upper West Region of Ghana, assessed the crop specific vulnerability to climate change induced extremes and the implications for climate change adaptation planning. A mixed study design involving a survey of 540 crop farmers and 24 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were conducted across twelve (12) rural communities for data collection and analysis. The results showed that although farmers were vulnerable to multiple climatic extremes, drought was the most frequently occurring and negatively impacting extreme event that impacted crop production negatively. This was followed by high sunshine and/or temperatures affecting crops. The results further revealed that maize and rice were the most sensitive and vulnerable crops to drought while all crops studied, maize, rice, millet, guinea corn, yam and soya beans were significantly sensitive and vulnerable to extreme sunshine and temperatures. To reduce vulnerability to climate extremes, especially, drought, it is imperative that efforts at climate change adaptation planning should promote Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) if rural livelihoods that largely depend on the smallholder crop sector are to be sustained in rural Ghana and SSA at large.