| dc.description.abstract | Agriculture though an important livelihood venture and a contributor to food security is still a rain
dependent sector within Ghana and largely managed by smallholder farmers. As arable land
diminishes and the impacts of climate change escalate, it becomes crucial to assess the future of
cassava production and yield in the KEEA municipality located within the Coastal Savannah
Agroecological Zone, a major cassava breadbasket of Ghana. This study utilized agroclimatology
data from NASA Power and WorldClim to predict the near (2021-2040) and far (2081-2100)
climate scenarios for KEEA municipality. In addition, a purposive sampling method was used to
select 254 cassava farmers and semi-structured questionnaires were administered to assess the
farmers’ perception of climate change and its impact on cassava yield. The data was analysed using
ArcGIS 10.8, SPSS 27, and XLSTAT 2024. The result showed that in the near future (2021-2040)
maximum temperature (Tmax) is projected to decrease under SSP2 while under SSP5, a slight
increase ranging from 0.1°C to 0.2°C is anticipated. In contrast, minimum temperatures (Tmin)
are expected to rise under both SSP2 and SSP5. Additionally, a significant decrease in precipitation
(rainfall) is anticipated under both scenarios, with SSP5 indicating a slight increase of 1mm. In
contrast to the near future, the far future (2081-2100) is expected to witness a notable increase in
temperatures under both the SSP2 and SSP5 scenarios. Maximum temperatures are projected to
rise by approximately 1°C under SSP2 and by nearly 3°C under SSP5. Concurrently, minimum
temperatures are anticipated to increase by approximately 1°C under SSP2 and by around 3.2°C
under SSP5. However, the results for precipitation indicate a general decrease under both
scenarios. In addition, the survey results showed that a majority (82.68%) of farmers within the
KEEA municipality were conscious of climate change and acknowledged its potential
consequences for their cassava productivity. Furthermore, a regression analysis revealed that
climatic factors exerted little influence, accounting for 19.4% and 10.2% of the variations in
cassava production and yields respectively. The findings of this study have implications for
providing location-specific policies such as enhancing extension services within the municipality
to bridge this information gap and introducing improved cassava varieties that are resilient and
well-suited to the anticipated climate conditions | en_US |
