Indigenous and research-based adaptation strategies of smallholder women rice farmers to climate variability in the Northern Region of Ghana

Abstract

This study investigated the indigenous and research-based strategies of smallholder women rice farmers in adapting to climate variability. Specifically, the study explored women rice farmers’ adoption of climate variability related adaptation strategies using descriptive statistics; ranked farmers’ perceived effectiveness of indigenous and research-based adaptation strategies to climate variability using descriptive statistics and Friedman’s Test; and finally, identified and ranked challenges to adopting the adaptation strategies using charts and the Kendall’s Coefficient of Concordance. Questionnaires were administered to 260 randomly sampled women rice farmers in two districts in the Northern region of Ghana. This was complemented with key informant interviews with the staff of Ministry of Food and Agriculture and some community leaders. The results revealed that farmers perceived crop related practices (mixed cropping and indigenous varieties) to be the most effective indigenous adaptation strategies while improved variety strategies (high yielding, early maturing and drought resistant varieties) are the perceived most effective research-based adaptation strategies. The most pressing challenges constraining farmers adopting of both indigenous and research-based adaptation strategies are inaccessibility of tractor/bullock services, inadequate funds and inaccessibility and high cost of farm inputs. The study therefore recommends that women rice farmers should form groups and through Ministry of Food and Agriculture and other agricultural-based NGOs be assisted to acquire mini tractors. Also, rice seeds (indigenous and hybrid varieties) should be subsidized by the Government and made accessible to farmers through community agricultural extension officials.