Climate change in Ghana has become a threat to food
security
The climate change impacts in Western Region ,
Brong-Ahafo Region and Northern part of Ghana results in severe draughts in the
dry season, severe floods, high temperatures, currently most parts of Northern
Ghana is flooded and lost of agricultural products and farm crops is predicted
to bring famine if measures are not put in place.
Climate change impacts are expected to reduce
agricultural productivity, stability and incomes in many areas that already
experience high levels of food insecurity.
The World Food Programme (WFP) said more than 680,000
people, representing 16 per cent of all households in the three northern
regions, were considered either severely or moderately food insecure.
Presenting a Comprehensive Food Security and
Vulnerability Analysis (CFSVA) Survey conducted in May 2012 which focused on
northern Ghana, the WFP indicated that around 140,000 people or 3.3% of
households were severely food insecure with the Upper East being the worst
affected.
It noted that the survey randomly sampled 8,399
households in 38 districts and found out that 28% of the households in the
Upper East were food insecure compared 10% in the Northern and 16% in the Upper
West regions.
The survey indicated that literacy rates for those aged
15 and above for the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions were 33%, 41%
and 40% respectively compared with a corresponding national rate of 72%.
With climate change affecting agricultural productivity
and growing populations demanding more food, it will be crucial for Government
of Ghana to preserve and share genetic resources to ensure food security.
Urgent and ambitious action is therefore imperative if we are to prevent
dangerous climate change that threatens to cause enormous human suffering,
undermine economic progress and poverty reduction, and trigger potentially
catastrophic environmental changes.
Government of Ghana has a crucial role to play by
show leadership and must not only sign Climate change agreements but enforce
them. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), global food
production uses 25% of all habitable land and is responsible for 70% of fresh
water consumption, 80% of deforestation, and 30% of greenhouse gas emissions.
It is the largest single driver of biodiversity loss and land-use change.
There are as many as 30,000 edible terrestrial plant
species in the world. However, only 30 crops account for 95 per cent of human
food energy needs, with rice, wheat, maize, millet and sorghum amounting to 60
per cent of these.
About 75 per cent of crop genetic diversity was lost in
the last century as farmers worldwide switched to genetically uniform,
high-yielding varieties and abandoned multiple local varieties.
We
cannot win the battle against climate change without the indigenous and
scientific knowledge, raise awareness and public education on Climate change in
the community.
Abibimman Foundation,
AYICC –Ghana, GCAP-Ghana and IDAY-Ghana,
Kenneth Nana Amoateng
Chief Executive Officer
Abibiman Foundation
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