Factors influencing climate change adaptation strategies in North-Western Ghana: evidence of farmers in the Black Volta Basin in Upper West region

• Published in: SN applied sciences Vol. 3; no. 5; pp. 548 - 20
• Main Authors: Mwinkom, Francis X. K., Damnyag, Lawrence, Abugre, Simon, Alhassan, Suhiyini I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.05.2021; Springer Nature B.V; Springer
• Subjects: Adaptation; Adaptation strategies; Agricultural practices; Agricultural production; Agriculture; Applied and Technical Physics; Basins; Black Volta Basin; Chemistry/Food Science; Climate adaptation; Climate change; Correlation analysis; Crop farmers; Crop production; Crops; Dependent variables; Drought; Drought resistance; Earth and Environmental Sciences: Natural Hazards and Hydrological Risks: Climate Change – Water – Sustainable Society Nexus; Earth Sciences; Engineering; Environment; Environmental risk; Expected utility; Farm income; Farmers; Farms; Food; Households; Logistic regression; Logit models; Materials Science; NGOs; Nongovernmental organizations; Planting; Productivity; Rain; Rainfall; Research Article; Sampling methods; Sensitizing; Socioeconomic factors; Technology adoption; Ghana; Africa; Black Volta Basin; Logistic regression; Climate change; Adaptation strategies; Crop farmers
• ISSN: 2523-3963; 2523-3971
• DOI: 10.1007/s42452-021-04503-w

The erratic rainfall patterns and decline in crop production are due to the threat of climate change. The responses of farm households to climate change play a very essential role in addressing the risk of climate change. This study investigated factors influencing adaptation strategies to climate change in the Black Volta Basin of Ghana. Survey questions were administered to 450 households sampled from eight districts using a multistage sampling technique. Out of the six adaptation strategies, four major identified adaptation strategies were subsequently used as the dependent variable in the multivariate (MV) probit and binary logit models. The results revealed that factors such as gender, age, household size, farmer-based-organizations membership, farm income, years of education, districts of location of respondents, farm size and climate change awareness—statistically and significantly—influenced households’ adaptation to the changing climate. However, the positive correlation matrix from the MV probit model showed complementarities among all the adaptation strategies adopted by household heads. Priority should be given to improving household heads’ adaptive capacity. Also, governmental and non-governmental organizations should invest in climate-resilient programmes. Finally, programmes aimed at sensitizing household heads on climate change adaptation strategies such as changing planting time, changing farming methods, and planting early maturing and drought-resistant varieties through pieces of trainings and workshops may be duly supported by the Government; particularly, for household heads in the Black Volta Basin.