Farmers’Day25: Climate finance receives US$63m funding boost    

By Wisdom JONNY-NUEKPE

More than three million farmers in northern parts of the country are expected to benefit from a US$63.21million Green Climate Fund grant for implementing climate resilience programmes.

This project aims to boost climate resilience for smallholder farmers in northern Ghana by enhancing food security, strengthening the rural economy and promoting sustainable livelihoods through climate-resilient agriculture, water management, landscape restoration and resilient infrastructure.

Smallholder farmers in northern Ghana, where 80 percent of the workforce relies on rain-fed subsistence agriculture, are increasingly exposed to risks arising from climate variability.

Last year, prolonged dry spells, extreme rainfall, rising temperatures and unpredictable weather patterns contributed to food insecurity, water scarcity, crop losses and infrastructure damage in key regions in the Northern agriculture zone in Ghana.

These climatic impacts jeopardise rural livelihoods, ecosystems and community resilience in the country’s most vulnerable regions.

Key activities of this project include strengthening climate information services, promoting and implementing climate-resilient agricultural practices, restoring degraded landscapes to reduce vulnerability to droughts and floods, facilitating smallholder farmers’ access to finance, enhancing local knowledge and awareness of climate risks and adaptive practices to support long-term adoption.

The project started in July this year and will end in 2032, with a projected 3.6 million beneficiary farmers.

Key climate mitigation measures in the coming year

Complementing additional efforts in the country’s fight against climate risks, Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson in the 2026 budget said Ghana has also procured a sovereign drought insurance policy under the African Risk Capacity for the 2025/2026 farming season.

The policy, he said, will provide rapid financial relief for smallholder farmers in northern Ghana during severe droughts.

Currently the Ghana Meteorological Agency does not use drought indices for drought forecasting but rather bases it on rainfall forecast.

In 2026, Ghana will also adopt a Parametric Flood Insurance Scheme for the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area – protecting 1.2 million vulnerable residents from flood-related disasters.

Dr. Ato Forson mentioned that Ghana’s climate leadership was further strengthened by submitting a proposal to host the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Regional Office for Africa in Accra.

The hosting, according to him, will attract green investments, strengthen partnerships and position the country as a hub for sustainable finance in Africa.

“We have also secured some US$798,452 for the development of a Multi-Hazard Early Warning System. In 2026, the Ghana Climate Prosperity Plan will be updated to align with national priorities such as the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme,” he added.

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