Ghanaian Farmers Urged to Adopt Agroecology as a Climate Change Mitigation Action

By Roger A. Agana 

December 23, 2023

From tackling hunger, poverty and inequality to responding to climate change to safeguarding biodiversity and expanding nutritional choice, agroecology echoes the goals of the 2030 Agenda. - Picture by PORET-Zimbabwe.

Ghanaian farmers must go back and adopt agroecological practices that were once used by our ancestors in their farming activities, Edwin Kweku Andoh Baffour, Communications Director for Food Sovereignty Ghana (FSG), says.

His comment comes on the heels of the neglect of agroecology amidst the negative impact climate change has on food security in the country.

According to Baffour, climate change is a reflection of the fact that the greed of mankind has thrown the world off balance with nature, hence the need to go back and adopt the farming methods or practices used by our ancestors.

“I want Ghanaians to know that the interest of western commercial entities has tricked the world into thinking that food is in short supply,” said FSG Communications Director.

“Our grandparents used agroecology to feed us; it has fed the world for centuries. Our ancestors were not using chemicals to spray their farms; they were using cover crops to control weeds; they practiced intercropping and mixed farming, among others. I agree with those calling for the use of agroecology; it was the way ancient people used to produce food,” he added.

The adoption of agroecological practices, including using cover crops to control weeds, intercropping, and mixed farming, among others, has the potential to significantly reduce the cost of production, improve crop yields, enhance healthy ecosystems, build on ancestral knowledge and customs, and strengthen fair markets for their produce.

To this end, Food Sovereignty Ghana, he disclosed, has been engaging in advocacy work on the re-adoption of agroecology by Ghanaian farmers.

He further stated, “We do a lot of advocacy work on radio, in universities, with drivers, and in communities to enable people to avoid the use of pesticides and use pepper and other natural methods to control insects.

We do a lot of first-hand engagements for people in the value chain to understand the need to re-adopt (“Sankofa”) agroecology.”

Farming thrives when it works with local ecosystems, including improving soil and plant quality through available biomass and biodiversity, rather than battling nature with chemical inputs.

Agroecology shares much in common with other approaches to sustainable farming.

Agroecology is farming that “centers on food production that makes the best use of nature’s goods and services while not damaging these resources.”

Promoters of agroecology strive to nurture a healthy landscape in which to grow the world’s food and fiber. They are guided by an ethos of bio- and cultural diversity featuring small farmer-centered applied research and policies that protect their livelihoods.

Worldwide, scientists, grassroots organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), consumers, universities, and public agencies are working with farmers to construct sustainable and nutritious food systems based on agroecology.

There are now unprecedented opportunities to advance agroecology globally. Too frequently, the corporate food system has negative impacts on people’s health, the environment, and the well-being of family farmers.

Agroecology is recognized as both a mitigation and adaptation strategy for climate change. Consumers are increasingly demanding healthier food and a closer connection to food producers. Social movements around the globe, many with significant leadership by women’s and indigenous organizations, are coalescing in campaigns for a healthy food system built on an environmental and human rights ethos.

Delegates from nearly 200 countries gathered at Expo City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) from November 30 to December 12 this year for the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC), or Conference of the Parties, more commonly known as the COP28 climate conference.

The conference nearly resulted in every country in the world agreeing to transition away from fossil fuels. It was the first time such an agreement had been reached in 28 years of international climate negotiations.

The commitment is included in the first “global stocktake” of how countries can accelerate action to meet the goals of the landmark Paris Agreement.

However, many countries walked away from the talks frustrated at the lack of a clear call for a fossil-fuel “phase-out” this decade and at a “litany of loopholes” in the text that might enable the production and consumption of coal, oil, and gas to continue.

Despite an early breakthrough in launching a fund to pay for “loss and damage” from climate change, developing countries were left disappointed by a lack of new financial commitments for transitioning away from fossil fuels and adapting to climate impacts.