How Climate Smart Agriculture Transforms Livelihood of Smallholder Farmers in Northern Ghana

This study examined how Climate Smart Agricultural (CSA) practices promoted in the Northern region of Ghana improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. In this study, 318 smallholder farmers were interviewed in nine communities. Descriptive statistics were used to assess smallholder farmers’ perceptions on the enablers of CSA practices’ uptake in the study area and to also assess the perceived effects of smallholder farmers’ utilisation of CSA on their livelihood. Also, Kendall’s coefficient of concordance analysis was performed to assess the challenges faced by smallholder farmers in the uptake and utilisation of CSA practices. The study revealed that majority (63.8%) and (91.8%) of smallholder farmers had increased their income level and their sustainable use of the natural resource respectively as a result of utilizing CSA practices. The study also revealed that high cost of improved crop varieties was the highest challenge faced by smallholder farmers. The study recommends that; government should consider subsidizing agricultural inputs. Also, taxes on agricultural inputs should be removed as a strategy to reduce the overall cost of agricultural inputs.

Smallholder farmers, Vulnerability, Mitigation, Adaptation, Utilisation

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