Four ideas that can help Ghana preserve food security when the next drought hits 

Ghana’s food security situation has officially entered a crisis phase following a dry spell in eight of the country’s 16 regions. In the middle of what is supposed to be the major rainy season, several parts of the country have had little to no rainfall over the last two months. 

“This situation prevented some farmers from preparing their farmlands for production while those who were able to prepare their land could not sow due to the absence of moisture. The farmers who took advantage of the early rains in June have experienced severe water stress on their farms. Most of the crops, especially maize and groundnut, have reached their critical wilting points,” Minister for Food and Agriculture Dr. Bryan Acheampong told a media briefing in Accra which he addressed alongside the Ministers of Finance and Defence. 

At a place like Abease in the Bono Region, there was no rainfall between July 10 and Aug. 12, a continuous 5-week period of dryness. The Upper West Region has had only 575mm of rainfall this year compared to 982mm by the same period last year, an almost 50% reduction. These droughts triggered by climate change are cyclical incidents that the nation grapples with repeatedly. I covered a similar dry spell situation in 2015 which we documented in this JoyNews Hotline documentary titled, LOST HARVEST.

At the ministers’ press briefing, a journalist with the Daily Searchlight Newspaper Nana Poku asked this very thoughtful question; “What long-term solutions, policies or programs are you putting in place to deal with this, because it is going to recur, so we will not come back and be asking for alms?” Just like many fellow Ghanaian citizens, I have some ideas on what should be done going forward and that prompted me to write this article. But the truth is that these ideas are nothing new. Those in authority know what should be done but just don’t have the political will to act. I will still repeat them here. But before I get to those, let’s lay bare the severity of the challenge at hand.

What exactly is happening?

871,000 hectares of cultivated farmlands across the country have been destroyed as a result of the dry spell as of Aug. 20, according to preliminary data from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. These farmlands belong to 435,872 farmers who invested a cumulative 3.5 billion Ghana Cedis (US$220 million) in their farming activities and were expecting to generate 10.4 billion Ghana Cedis (US$660 million) in revenue by the end of the farming season. But all that has been lost to the dry spell. That 10.4 billion Ghana Cedis loss constitutes 5% of Ghana’s agricultural sector GDP. Farmers growing rice, yam, sorghum, millet, soybean, groundnut and yam have all been impacted. But that is not the full picture. The government says almost one million (928,500) farmers cropping 1.8 million hectares of farmlands are at risk of having their crops destroyed. These farmers have invested 7.4 billion Ghana Cedis (US$471 million) in their farming activities since the start of the season and were expecting 22.2 billion Ghana Cedis (US$1.5 billion) in revenues. They are at risk of losing it all. This projected loss is equivalent to 10% of Ghana’s agricultural GDP. The government says it has been advised by experts that the dry spell will end soon. It will thus launch a replanting support program to provide farmers with fast-maturing seeds and other inputs, so they plant in the minor rainy season in the southern part of the country from September. 

In the meantime, the government has banned the export of grains including maize, rice, and soybean until the situation normalizes. The government says it will tap into the ECOWAS Grain Reserve and partner with the private sector to import 300,000 metric tons of maize and 150,000 metric tons of rice to provide food support to vulnerable farmers who have lost their crops. An additional 26,000 metric tons of poultry feed will be imported. The government says it will give about 928,523 farmers a cash cushioning amount of 1,000 Ghana Cedis (US$64) per hectare as partial cover for their lost investment. 

The Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam says the government is raising 8 billion Ghana Cedis (US$500 million) to fund a crisis response program. The government has already secured 2.4 billion Ghana Cedis (US$155 million) from development partners for the program and 2.5 billion Ghana Cedis (US$60 million) has been raised internally, whiles efforts continue to raise the rest. 

So, how did we get here in the first place? And what should be done so we don’t run into worse food insecurity challenges when the next drought strikes? Here are four recycled ideas. 

Need for strategic food stocks 

First, does it even make sense that as a nation, we have no strategic grain stocks and now find ourselves scrambling to import grains as an emergency measure after being hit with just two months of a dry spell? The finance minister acknowledged at the press briefing that the imports will likely impact the country’s already weak Cedis. As a country that’s highly dependent on agriculture and with our history of vulnerability to climatic fluctuations, there is no justification that we do not have strategic grain stocks to serve as a buffer against unexpected shortages. One of the mandates of the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) established in 2010 is to purchase surplus cereals from farmers at the end of farming seasons and release them during lean seasons to help manage price volatility. If NAFCO was living up to its mandate, its stores shouldn’t be dry by now and should at least have some stocks of grains to push onto the local market. NAFCO holds strategic food reserve stocks for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) under its Regional Food Security Reserve Program. Amazingly, the government has not seen the need to use NAFCO to do the same for Ghana so there are grains to rely on in times like this. 

Going forward, the government must resource institutions like NAFCO to construct and maintain more grain storage facilities. Every nation must know that there will once in a while come tough times like this when the weather fails. We need more storage facilities and an efficient distribution system to quickly release reserves to areas in need during emergencies. We probably need a parliament-approved regulation to back the implementation of policies governing the management, maintenance, and usage of food stock reserves to ensure governments take it seriously. 

Improve irrigation facilities 

Ghana has had an Irrigation Development Authority since 1977 with a mandate to develop and construct small-scale irrigation systems for farmers. Although it is under the supervision of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, GIDA has a broad mandate and can borrow money from the open market for its development programs. Unfortunately, after almost 50 years of establishment, and despite the countless natural water bodies available across the country, only about 3% of farmlands in Ghana are irrigated. As the Minister for Food and Agriculture said in this recent World Bank article,  “a lack of access to irrigation stifles the resilience of agriculture in Ghana.” The article co-authored with various World Bank officials observed; “Farmers bear the brunt of shifting weather patterns and extreme events as the farming system is predominantly rain-fed.” Relying solely on rain-fed agriculture for our food production in the face of increasing climate variability and unpredictable weather patterns leaves our food systems vulnerable. Development and expansion of irrigation systems that can ensure a consistent water supply for crops regardless of rainfall patterns, can reduce the risks associated with droughts. Additionally, integrating advanced techniques like soil moisture management and rainwater harvesting can further mitigate the risks associated with erratic weather.  Sadly, the much-touted One-Village One-Dam initiative the current administration rolled out in 2017 has become a ‘snafu’. If the promised dams were available, the dry spell would not be this bad because the dams would have held some water following the first rains. 

Investment in seed systems 

Seeds remain the fundamental building blocks of agriculture. They are the primary source from which plants grow. If you get every aspect of production right, have the appropriate irrigation facilities, use the right fertilizers, and do not use quality seeds, nothing much will be gained from the field. But if you grow quality seeds that have been improved to be drought tolerant, it is possible to still have okay yields even in the face of drought spells. Seeds that are bred for specific environmental conditions, such as drought-tolerant, water-use efficient, and heat-resistant seeds, can help farmers adapt to climate change and its associated challenges. It matters less whether the seeds are open-pollinated varieties, hybrids, genetically modified organisms, or whatever. Farmers simply need improved seeds that are climate resilient and perform better than landraces so that even in instances when rains fail, there will still be something to salvage on the fields. Statistics show less than 30% of farmers in the country grow improved seed varieties and government needs to take steps to help boost the numbers. Unfortunately, state institutions like the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, universities, and other research institutions developing improved seed varieties are not properly funded by the government. Appropriate seed distribution systems are also non-existent. This must change going forward if we will have the capacity to survive future drought spells. For maximum impact, these improved seeds should be coupled with supportive policies, effective extension services, and ongoing research to address the specific needs of different regions.

Let’s plant more trees and protect existing ones 

This is a point I won’t belabour because it is a well-known fact that trees are integral to ensuring climate resilience. They have the ability to preserve climates and provide a cooling environment even in moments of dry spells to ensure productive farming. Trees can soak up excess rainwater and increase the soil's capacity to store water. Some native trees can send their roots deep into the soil to access groundwater and redistribute it through their root systems. Enough of the destruction of forests through illegal mining and illegal logging. As the popular saying goes, when the last tree dies, the last man dies. Let’s work to preserve the environment as the sure way to protect our food production systems. 

The writer, Joseph Opoku Gakpo is a Doctoral Researcher, Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh - USA