Title: On the papers and on the ground: assessment of climate change concerns within the Planting for Food and Jobs Program in Ghana

Authors: David Nawiene Chutab

Addresses: Department of Public Administration and Health Services Management, University of Ghana, P.O. Box LG 78, Ghana

Abstract: Planting for Food and Jobs Program (PFJP) is a flagship policy introduced by the Government of Ghana in 2017 which aimed at tackling declining productivity in Agriculture in Ghana. Using practical experiences of five communities that have benefited from the flagship programme, this study identified prevailing climate change threats and local coping strategies for the local communities. A mixed-method technique was employed to elicit data. The study results identified low crop yield, changing livelihoods, rural-urban migration, household debts to credit institutions as the effects of changing weather patterns in these communities. Improved crop varieties, a shift to coconut farming, and dynamic agroforestry are the local coping strategies employed by the farmers in these communities to safeguard their livelihoods. The study further revealed that the unplanned nature of climate change adaptation strategies implemented and kneejerk reaction to climate change threats within PFJP failed to provide proactive resilience to smallholder farmers against climate change threats.

Keywords: Planting for Food and Jobs; PFJ; climate change; climate change adaptation; dynamic agroforestry; Ghana.

DOI: 10.1504/IER.2023.132557

Interdisciplinary Environmental Review, 2023 Vol.23 No.1, pp.22 - 38

Received: 09 Feb 2022
Accepted: 19 Oct 2022
Published online: 28 Jul 2023 *

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