There is a need for Ghana to institute a national climate mitigation fund for smallholder farmers to safeguard their livelihoods.
Mr David K. Awusi, the Executive Director of Youth Rise International, a youth-led non-partisan NGO, has said.
Agriculture in Ghana employs fifty percent of the over 31 billion population which served as a major driver of Ghanaian economic growth and development.
However, the livelihoods of these smallholder farmers are mostly threatened with food security becoming a national crisis due to the alarming rate of climate variability and change.
That was contained in a press statement signed by Mr Awusi and copied to the Ghana News Agency as part of the celebration of the farmers across the country.
The year’s celebration will be held on the theme: “Accelerating Agriculture Development through Value Addition”.
The day is slated to honor and appreciate gallant farmers and fishers who worked hard, tirelessly to feed the country, and tirelessly provide for the needs of their families.
Mr Awusi called for an emergency sustainable response to roll back the deepening poverty levels and mitigate against the impacts of climate on the economic livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the country.
“ Health, sustainable and inclusive food systems are critical to achieving the worlds development goals”
He noted that Agriculture was one powerful tool to end extreme poverty, boost shared prosperity, and feed a projected 9.7 billion people by 2050.
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“ There is evidence that growth in the agriculture sector is two to four times more effective in raising incomes among the poorest compared to other sectors.”
The Executive Director called on the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to prioritize and centre social protection and climate change mitigation to empower the smallholder farmers, who are currently hit the highest with economic hardships hindering their productivity.
Agriculture he said was crucial to the economy accounting for four percent of the global Gross Domestic Product(GDP) and in some least developing countries, it accounted for 25 percent of GDP according to the World Bank 2021 report.
