Document Type

Poster

Date of Original Version

3-29-2025

Abstract

Using traditional agroecological knowledge (TAeK) has gained global recognition as a cooperative approach to food security. Despite this, the literature is skewed towards drivers for adoption, rainfall prediction, on-farm tree management, and community risk assessment. This study employed qualitative and quantitative methods to understand the use of TAeK among smallholder farmers who cannot afford climate-smart agriculture (CSA) in the Bolgatanga East District of the Upper East Region of Ghana. The problem confrontation index was used to rank the barriers to using CSA. The findings showed that smallholder farmers in the district face several barriers to adopting CSA, including the high cost of improved crop varieties, and difficulties in interpreting the technical language of climate information. In addressing the barriers, smallholder farmers relied on the appearance of black ants, croaking of frogs, and 9 flowering of the bean pod tree to predict rainfall. Also, the smallholder farmers adjusted planting dates to avoid drought, planted crop mixtures at different times to manage crop risks, and used plant extracts to control pests. Given the high cost and complexity of modern CSA for smallholder farmers, there is a need to adopt inclusive, participatory approaches, such as farmer-led knowledge creation, which foster the co-production of knowledge. Co-production allows smallholder farmers to share their TAeK and provides opportunities to benefit from scientific innovation. By facilitating the co-production of knowledge, policymakers can help ensure that CSA practices are both locally relevant and scientifically robust, ultimately strengthening the adaptive capacity of smallholder farmers for sustainable food security.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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