Agro-ecological intensification for climate change adaptation: Tales on soil and water management practices of smallholder farmers in rural Ghana

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-2468502/v1

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Agro-ecological intensification for climate change adaptation: Tales on soil and water management practices of smallholder farmers in rural Ghana

https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2468502/v1

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Globally, following the rising impacts of climatic stressors on humanity, climate change scholars have argued for alternative approaches towards adapting food crop production to climate change in sustaining smallholder farmers’ livelihood. This study used qualitative methods of data collection and analysis. Inspired by generational farming practices of smallholder farmers, drawing on their Agro ecological Intensification (AEI) practices, we contribute to climate change adaptation debates in Sub-Saharan Africa. We explore traditional AEI practices of smallholder farmers and their potential of adapting food crop production to climate change in the age of technology. We explored the link between smallholder farmers self-initiated soil and water management practices and AEI and discussed the implications for adapting food crop production to climate change via AEI practices. The study realized that smallholder farmers engaged in varied agronomic practices including the preparation and application of organic manure and compost ridging, crop rotation and cover cropping. Farmers applied multiple practices across different farms; compound and bush farms, valley fields, and gardens. Although these practices bear a resemblance to AEI in the form of improve soil fertility, health and water retention, we realized that smallholder farmers complemented self-initiated AEI practices with the application of chemical fertilizers to adapt food crop production to climate change. In sustaining food production, we argue that although AEI practices offer potential for sustaining soil and water, a concerted effort in the form of a climate change adaptation planning policy is imperative to ensure holistic adoption of AEI by smallholder farmers.

Smallholder Farmers

Soil and Water Management

Ecological Agriculture Intensification

Endogenous Development

Climate Change Adaptation Planning

Climate change and its allied impacts on livelihood have gained dominance in research and practice in recent times [20, 79]. Although the effects of climate change are widespread, the agriculture sector appears the most affected, especially smallholder farmers engaged in farming food crops [10, 50]. Climatic events such as unpredictable rainfall patterns, flooding, drought, increasing temperature and insect infestations, amongst others, have been observed to limit the production capacities of smallholder farmers [31, 58, 17]. Although the manifestations of these events are observed to be indiscriminate in terms of geography, studies have shown that Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries are more vulnerable due to the reliance on rain-fed agriculture and the burgeoning of smallholder farmers with truncated adaptive capacities [29, 79, 50]. These farmers utilize about 62% of the farmlands in Africa [20, 24].

Although adapting to climatic events is not entirely beyond the abilities of smallholder farmers, climate change scholars explain that smallholder farmers are vulnerable due to extreme exposure to climatic shocks and stressors by the nature of their sources of livelihood and the dependence on rain-fed agriculture with equally low resource capacity to adapt to systemic failures due to poverty [11, 32, 25]. They are tangled between erratic rainfall patterns and rising temperatures, and increasing incidence of soil moisture loss due to land degradation, desertification, soil erosion and windstorm, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Sahel areas [65, 57]. In view of the vulnerability of farmers, some climate change scholars report that smallholder farmers are often compelled to make trade-offs between the types of inputs, labour use and methods of tillage in order to adapt food crop farming to climate change [16, 1, 13, 22].

In Sub-Saharan Africa, studies have reported the existence of policies and programmes that aim at enabling farmers to adapt to climatic events, namely the deployment of improved farm inputs and the mechanisation of smallholder agriculture; the training of farmers on modernized farming practices; the introduction and adoption of improved crop varieties; the call for diversification and inter-cropping; zero tillage in the production strand; and heavy emphasis on soil moisture conservation in farmlands to adapt to the erratic rainfall pattern [37, 35, 79]. These studies have similarly highlighted the potential roles of Sustainable Intensification Agriculture (SAI) for enhancing food crops production via land use and inputs intensity [29, 28]. Others have demonstrated the roles of Agro ecological farming practices to include preserving and improving soil health, enhancing biomass and nutrient recycling, raising biological diversity and fostering beneficial interactions between species, and maximizing the use of water, energy, nutrients, and genetic resources [65, 73]. Agro-ecological Intensification (AEI) has been recognized more or less as an ecological suitable approach for maintaining soil structure, limiting land degradation and growing food crops with limited resources [62]. The AEI paradigms place emphasis on farmers’ ability to maintain farm size; yet maximize food crop yields by drawing on integrated practices [66]. Some studies have reported the roles of irrigation and soil moisture conservation as enabling food crop farming among smallholder farmers, and argued that whilst technologies are imperative for adapting irrigational practices, a low level of knowledge of modern technologies limits its adoption and usage among smallholder farmers [8, 40, 15].

Furthermore, studies on AEI focus on the cost and benefits of utilizing farm inputs in AEI and how farmers respond to chemical fertilizer usage/green revolution [35, 79]. Some scholars showcase the relationships between smallholder farmers' socio-economic characteristics and the realization of ecological agriculture intensification [55]. Other insightful studies demonstrated the global progress towards AEI and the low adoption of ecological intensification practices [65, 76]. A studies [44] in Malawi demonstrates the generational dynamics in agriculture production – in particular, how access to arable land favour the elderly due to rising population, and the low adoption of AEI. In response [74], reports that information technologies (Radio, SMS) are impactful in creating awareness for the adoption of AEI among smallholder farmers. With already significant losses of soil moisture in the Sahel and Saharan areas due to the erratic rainfall pattern and increasing temperature, some climate change scholars have articulated the need to pay attention to soil and water conservation practices as climaate change adapation strategy through AE [I7]. In Ghana, historical recount of soil and water conservation of farmers shown how farmers have over the years engaged in food crop production drawing largely on local and indigenous practices [14]. However, scanty knowledge exists on soil and water conservation practices of smallholders, and how they relate with AEI towards adapting food crops productions to climate change.

The aim of this study is to offer a situation of exploration of self-initiated soil and water management practices of smallholder farmers and how they relate with AEI. In doing so, we (i) explored farmers’ narratives on traditional soil and water management practices; (ii) examined community-wide soil and water conservation practices; (iii) discussed the linkages between smallholder farmer practices and AEI towards adapting food crop production to climate change. The paper is organized as follows: Section 1 has the introduction, Section 2 provides a conceptual overview on smallholder farmers, AEI and its relations to climate change adaptation; Section 3 presents the study area and methodology; Section 4 presents results that demonstrate the narratives of smallholder farmers on soil and water conservation practices, and synthesis of community-wide farmer practices; and in section 5, we discuss the results demonstrating how smallholder farmers soil and water management relates to AEI towards climate change adaptation. The paper concludes with section 6, which shows the implications for development planning.

2.1 Smallholder farmers and smallholder agriculture

In agricultural scholarship, smallholder farmers are termed small-scale agricultural producers. In Asia, these farmers are characterized as producers whose cultivable lands are less than 2 hectares [6]. In Africa, smallholder farmers are defined as farmers whose cultivable lands do not exceed 1.28 hectares [24], or 2 hectares or less [45]. Across these geographies, the purpose, scope and labour for production among smallholder farmers have been observed to revolve within subsistence (feeding of immediate family) - using family labour [41]. These perspectives suggest that there exists scholarly convergence in terms of the production motives, the scope and type of labour used by smallholder farmers, but there is divergence on the exact scale of production and nature of food produced by smallholder farmers. Following these distinctions, this study defines smallholders as subsistence producers of food crops. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the collective role of smallholder farmers has been observed to contribute to about 90% of the food needs and serve as a source of employment [45, 36]. Unfortunately, by their production scope and nature (rain-fed dependent production), they are relatively disadvantaged in the advent of climate change due to low adaptive capacity [46]. The vulnerabilities of smallholder farmers are more or less driven by the ecological sphere, particularly the rising incidence of soil infertility, vegetation loss, land degradation, and desertification caused by growing population [4].

Studies have revealed how smallholder farmers use remediation techniques such as nanomaterials to treat polluted soil and conserve water [67]. Others have revealed that although phytodegradation and phytoextraction constitute the advanced form of maintaining polluted soil and water, smallholder farmers lack knowledge in these practices; instead, farmers resort to the use of composting [69, 54]. Related studies have shown that smallholder farmers engage in agronomic practices such as cover cropping as a practice towards soil and water management. Cover crops are deliberately cultivated to maintain soil fertility and moisture by managing erosion on farmlands, and maintaining microbial activities in the soil [18]. Further studies advance the above by demonstrating the roles of cover cropping in the food production landscape to include their ability to assist in soil carbon sequestration while reducing nitrate and nutrient leaching on farmlands. Soil and water management practices in arable lands are dependent on the nature of the topography [81]. These studies reveal that farmers use soil bunds to prevent erosion from runoff water on the farms in gentle sloping farmlands, while utilizing hedgerows as well as stone bunds as effective measures in steep sloping farmlands. These practices are cost effective and widely used in Sub-Saharan Africa. Others have argued that they facilitate water logging on the farmlands. Farmers adopt a blend by engaging in plantation farming and cultivation of perennial crops [3]. These are meant to reduce direct sunlight that could cause evaporation of the soil moisture to reach the ground and the debris of the plants serves as manure to enrich the soil nutrients. To manage the effects of soil erosion on nutrient content in the soil, farmers make use of Vicia Stativa as a means of reducing erosion on farmlands when the interest is on plantation farming [3].

In Ghana, the agricultural sector is one of the major drivers of economic growth, the largest employer, and dominated by smallholder farmers; yet it suffers the most from climate change [36, 59]. Crop farmers suffer losses to both erratic and heavy precipitation, especially in the northern part of Ghana [16]. Smallholder farmers are not spared from drought spells, soil erosion, flooding and windstorms [19]. Over the years, farmers have engaged in self-initiated agriculture production and practices drawing on indigenous skills and production systems [60, 59]. Even though, food crop farmers drawing largely on local practices such as the cultivation of multiple crop varieties, alternating between crops and animal rearing to adapt to climate change and variability but reliance on increase farm size and remittance make farmers more adaptive [14]. These are often shaped by the past experiences of farmers [2].

2.2 Understanding the key principles of Ecological Agriculture Intensification (AEI) for climate change adaptation

Ecological Agriculture Intensification (AEI), also known as Conservation Agriculture (CA), is an adaptive approach that evolved in the 1980s as alternative ways of farming towards promoting environmental integrity in the food crop production landscape [38, 49, 73, 84, 30]. AEI refers to “farming practices that rely on ecosystem services rather than on external inputs [93]. AEI places emphasis on integrated practices including integrated crop, soil, water and nutrient management (ICSWNM) - the multi-techniques used by farmers to retain soil fertility and quality where the major concern is nutrients and soil availability [27, 81]. AEI holds the potential for balancing environmental outcome by maintaining biodiversity, regaining and maintaining soil structure, increasing food crops’ yields in the long-term [38, 27, 80, 55] as well as a counter-measure against land degradation, desertification of farmlands and, most especially, the rising cost of farm inputs [64, 12, 65, 35].

However, a recent study indicates that the benefits of AEI are not homogeneous among farmers, and are in fact heterogeneous - variation in farm management practices among farmers [55]. Secondly, there are variations in the socio-economic characteristics of farmers; and thirdly, there are differentials surrounding ecological settings and production motives [55]. These variations and differences tend to shape the outcomes of agro-ecological farming practices among farmers. However, the ability of smallholder farmers to practice AEI depends on the availability of knowledge and resources within the local context [4, 53]. These manifest through engagement in various agronomic practices such as an intensified cropping system and intercropping legumes with other non-leguminous crops towards enhancing soil fertility [33, 51]. Ordinarily, legumes may be integrated into maize-based cropping systems as an alternative to chemical fertilizers in a step towards sustaining biodiversity [83]. These have been found to contribute towards weed and pest control, enhancing soil fertility, pollination, and nutrient cycling [39]; and are capable of reducing the rate of water loss for adapting food crop cultivation to the climatic conditions [27, 7, 68]. AEI emphasizes that individual farming practices, including the knowledge-based development of farmers towards addressing ecological, social and economic conditions [52] in adapting to climate change. Some scholars have also argued that effective engagement in AEI requires collective action, more or less of the social capital approach for widespread impact [64]. Social capital formation contributes towards holistic adoption of soil conservation practices taking into consideration water, trees and livestock, cutting-off drains, contour ridges, mixed cropping, strip cropping and planting trees to check soil erosion [43, 64]. Social capital serves as the ground for knowledge sharing and pooling of labour to work on the farmers [48]. Therefore, the existence and formation of farmers’ associations such as village savings and loans associations (VSLAs) and irrigation farmers’ associations serve as an avenue for knowledge transfer for effective ecological intensification agricultural practices [70, 61]. Key philosophies of AEI include diversity of factors including increase in soil fertility and quality, maintaining biological diversity and structure of the soil [75]. They reiterated that the AEI is measured based on the yields of crops and the general socioeconomic status of smallholder farmers. Smallholder farmers adapting agro-ecological farming practices are influenced by several factor. These are demand factors (political environment), legitimization (from community practitioners), farmers’ ability (skills and initiative and financial possibilities) and their motivation (better understanding of the ecosystem dynamics and lack of community support) [58, 73]. Related studies have shown that AEI practices tend to complement new/modernized technologies and improved crop varieties, with traditional agronomic practices leaning towards more biological processes and eco-system services/environmental quality restorations in a given production space [66, 23, 12].

3.1 Study Area

The study was conducted in two farming communities (Ko and Tanchara) of neighbouring districts, Lawra and Nandom, respectively, in the Upper West Region of Ghana. Lawra Municipality has 55 farming communities and shares boundaries with Nandom District to the North, to the East with Lambussie-Karni District, to the South with Jirapa, and West with the Republic of Burkina Faso. Nandom District, on the other hand, is bounded to the East and South by Lambussie District and Jirapa Municipality, respectively, and to the North and West is the Republic of Burkina Faso [56]. It has an area of 567.6 km², which constitutes about 3.1% of the region’s total land area of about 18,476 km² (See Fig. 1).

The two study communities (Ko and Tanchara) have underground water that holds the potential for drilling boreholes for dry season irrigation [56, 42]. However, both communities are predominantly into subsistence smallholder farming; some farmers cultivate along the traces of alluvial soil on flood plains of the Black Volta and sandy loam soil along the tributaries [56, 42]. The land is flat and low-lying, rising between 30 and 180 meters above sea level, and is dotted with isolated round hills (inselbergs). The choice of the above communities was purposely informed by the domination of smallholder farmers engaged in subsistence farming.

The vegetation of the study communities is the Guinea Savannah characterised by short grasses and scattered wooden plants. Environmental degradation in the area is one of the major challenges in smallholder production largely caused by the felling of trees for firewood and charcoal production, bush burning, overgrazing by livestock, and inappropriate farming practices. Incidences of soil erosion and soil infertility are some of the prevailing challenges confronting smallholder farmers in their annual production. In an attempt to improve the situation, the Government of Ghana (GOG), through the Forestry Commission (FC), has set up tree plantations towards regenerating and conserving tree species to improve land cover in the area [26]. The choice of the above communities was informed by the domination of smallholder farmers into subsistence farming mentioned earlier; and evidence of an increasing shift from extensification towards intensifying agriculture due to climate change.

3.2 Data collection and analysis

The study used a qualitative narrative research method to gain insight into the diverse soil and water conservation practices that smallholder farmers undertake. The qualitative method draws on in-depth-interviews and farmer households’ case studies to gather the date. These household case studies were conducted among three farmer households with long-lived experiences on soil and water conservation practices for climate change adaptation. The household case studies contributed to unravelling farmer-cantered narratives and experiences on soil and water conservation practices among farmers. Furthermore, four focus group discussions (FGDs) with farmer groups (two women's groups and two men's groups in each of the study communities) were conducted. Each of the FGD sessions had 11 participants. This was to understand the wider community perspectives on soil and water management practices. Key informant interviews (10) were useful for firstly drawing farmer households’ specific context-experiences in soil and water management practices; and secondly, drawing community-wide soil and water conservation practices towards building synergy. These respondents were purposively selected based on their adequate knowledge of farming practices in the selected communities. The informants consisted of Assembly members, Chiefs, earthly priests (Tindamba), women leaders (Maakazie), and youth leaders (male and female). The synergy of the above contributed to a deeper understanding of farmer soil and water conservation practices in the study communities.

Correspondingly, secondary data were obtained through a review of policy reports and articles on smallholder farming, Ecological Agriculture Intensification (AEI), and climate change adaptation. The review contributed to the conceptualization of farming experiences, and exposures and vulnerabilities under climate change in Sub-Saharan Africa. All field data sets were gathered through the assistance of three native speakers of Dagaare – the dialect of the research participants’/farmer households in the study communities. The field data were gathered in December 2020. The qualitative data were analysed along with the major focal themes of the study. Ethical issues as critical component of every research was duly observed. Prior to the data collection, an inform consent was sought from the respondents at two levels. Firstly, community entry was done through written letters to the community leaders (Assembly members and Chiefs) as decision-making individuals. Secondly, an inform consent was adhered to when engaging with the respondents. The inform consent note was read and interpreted to the uneducated respondents before signing and they were assured of confidentiality in any information given. Participation in the research process was absolutely voluntary and respondents could opt out when not at ease with the questioning. The data collection instrument was vetted by the ethical committee of the University of Development Studies (UDS) in accordance with the protocols and inform consent rules and regulations regarding confidentiality and privacy of the respondents.

4.1 Soil and water management practices of smallholder farmers

As indicated, most of the research participants (farmers) in the FGDs were aged between 22 and 40 years, followed by 41 and 59 years, and 60 years and above. The soil and water management practices of smallholder farmer was drawn from three farmer households who had adequate experiences on farming practices. The three farmer households (Zuuro, Chaara and Challan households – dummy names) had more than 25 years of farming experiences in their respective communities and were aged 50 years, 55 years and 74 years, respectively.

Soil and water management practices of Zuuro’s household

Zuuro is a resident of Ko (Nandom) in the Upper West Region of Ghana with 65 years of farming experience (aged 75 years). He and his wife Yaale have attained basic school education, and have a household size of 10, comprising four males and six females. However, only six family members work on his farm. He cultivated on the compound field, valley field, and garden. Recounting his experiences, Mr Zuuro narrated how his household’s farmland has witnessed a reduction over the years (from extensification to intensification) towards adapting to climatic events such as erratic rainfall, land degradation, desertification, and soil infertility. The household’s production occurred within their compound currently compared to the fathers and grandfathers’ era in some decades ago. As an effort towards managing soil and water, the household prepares and applies compost (see Fig. 2) and manure for their compound farm to adapt to climatic stressors. The household prepares compost by placing solid and liquid waste (dirty water, ashes, crop residues – groundnut and Bambara nuts and beans) into open pits. The household continuously applied the compost and manure on their farmlands to regain the fertility of the soil for crop development. The household disclosed that they have routinely undertaken these practices through knowledge and skills acquired from generational practices. By nature of intensification, the household can convey compost to their farmlands with less difficulty. As an effort towards water conservation and soil erosion prevention in farmlands, the household prepared ridges and developed bunds around the field to prevent excessive runoff of water in from the uplands.

The household also practised Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) by conserving and nursing tree species in their farmlands. The household predominantly conserves Ebony, Shea and Dawadawa tree species due to their social and economic values. The shedding of leaves of the trees and droplets of birds and animals was believed to serve as manure to fertilize the soil. However, the differential treatment of farmlands was found. The household disclosed that valley fields were comparatively more fertile than upland fields. Hence, the household applied minimal compost to valley fields where yam is cultivated compared with upland fields. The compost was applied before the development of mounds. Mixed cropping was predominantly practiced in the valley farms. The household grows multiple types of crops on mounds, including yam, maize, potatoes, aerial yam and rice. The household’s gains in soil and water conservation were through mixed cropping. The mixed cultivating of potatoes, yam and other crops assisted in soil moisture conservation and reduced erosion due to the spreading of potatoes and yam leaves around the mounds. Equally, the household developed ridges for soil moisture conservation and erosion prevention in the valley fields. The practice put in place to maintain soil fertility in his garden was the application of manure. The fertility of the soil reduced rapidly because of continuous cultivation per season requiring the need for manure application in the dry season to cultivate vegetables in the dry season. He also prepared the land by making sunken beds and mulches the beds to retain moisture in the soil. Mulching was also done on the beds with dry grasses during the dry season gardening. This was to retain the moisture level in the soil while increasing the soil fertility when the grasses decompose.

Soil and water managements practices of Chaara’s household

Mr Chaara, 55 years, and his wife, 45 years, both live in Tanchara, a community in the Lawra Municipality of the Upper West Region, Ghana. Mr Chaara attained basic level education, but his wife has no formal education. The household has 30 years of farming experience. In addition to their farm work, his wife is a fashion designer. Of the eight household members, only two work on the farm. The household undertook measures towards adapting their production to climate change manifesting in the gradual shift from extensification to intensification agriculture over the decades. Mr Chaara’s household prepare compost and manure to sustain the fertility of the soil in their farmlands.

The household applied compost and manure – droppings from livestock and poultry, and chemical fertilizers to their cereal crops. The household alternatively applied chemical fertilizers in the seasons when compost and manure were limited. Farming in ridges was the major method of farming of the household. The household routinely prepared ridges and plant crops to conserve soil moisture. The household checked soil erosion by developing trenches (see Fig. 3). In addition to the above, the household applied compost to valley fields and restricted burning on farmlands after harvest. The household practised mixed cropping and crop rotation (nitrogen-fixing crops with non-nitrogen fixing crops); and cultivated yam by preparing ridges. The households prepared sunken beds and mulching using dry greases to conserve soil moisture, especially in the dry season; and conserved water for dry season gardening by routinely developing trenches and ponds for run-off water.

Soil and water managements practices of Challa’s household

Mr Challa is 74 years of age, married to two women; Menuo, 61 and Faala, 44. The household had 15 people living in Tanchara in the Lawra Municipality, Upper West Region, Ghana. Of the 15 members in the household, only four work on the household farmland. The remaining household members have been enrolled in formal education and show less interest in farm work. The household undertook diverse soil and water management practices towards climate change adaptation (see Fig. 4); and only cultivated foodstuffs in their compound farms, leaving their farmlands in the outskirt due to their inability to manage larger farm sizes.

As a practice, Mr Challa improved soil fertility in this field by using manure and chemical fertilizer. The organic fertilizer (manure) is more often used compared with the inorganic fertilizer. He did not know how to make and use compost, but he rather applied more manure because he had a lot of livestock including pigs, goats and sheep. The manure was placed at a strategic place for subsequent spreading onto the entire farmland. He also prevents people from burning his field after harvesting. Soil and fertility management were in the form of mixed cropping (beans and millets; sorghum and beans; Bambara nuts and groundnuts). He did not apply compost because he did not know about it. However, he prepared the land by making ridges.

4.2 Synthesis soil and water management practices of smallholder farmers

The findings demonstrate how the practices of smallholder farmers relate to the AEI approach and climate change adaptation. In general, these include the application of organic manure and compost, and agronomic practices.

First, the results showed that farmers applied manure, compost and crop residues for improving soil and for water conservation. In both farming communities, smallholder farmers collected and applied manure in a step towards improving and sustaining the fertility of the soil in their farmlands for intensification agriculture. Alongside this, farmers adhered to strict regulations of non-burning. Smallholder farmers utilize both household waste and animal droppings. On the basis of intensification agriculture, farmers conveyed manure to their surrounding farmlands with little difficulty. Smallholder farmers were challenged in accessing manure due to the decline in livestock rearing. As a result, only a few of the farmer households applied manure to their farmlands. As disclosed by a 50-year smallholder farmer;

“… I am applying manure on my farm, but I am not able to get enough because I do not have many animals. The cost of chemical fertilizer is also expensive to come by. I would have wished to apply organic fertilizer like compost only, but I do not have enough knowledge in making it...” (Male farmer, KII, Ko-13th December 2020).

However, most smallholder farmers were found to complement manure with compost due to the limited access of the former. Farmer households routinely prepare compost and applied it to their farmlands. As indicated earlier, farmers prepare compost drawing on crop residue and household waste. Farmers organised and conveyed stalks of food crops after harvest to their homes as input for compost preparation.

“… in my home fields, I usually use manure from animals and compost which I prepare on my own using crops residues and waste materials. The compost can remain in the soil for more than one year. I usually get a higher yield the following year than the first year of application. The problems associated with these methods are; getting animal dropping is scarce, especially if the farmer is not having many animals. Another challenge is that making compost from crop residue is tiresome due to the continuous watering to facilitate the rapid decomposition of the materials…” (A Male Informant, KII, Tanchara, 12th December 2020).

From the key informant interviews, farmers disclosed that compost was applied to both upland and valley fields. In both farming communities, farmers acquired knowledge and skills through their fathers in the past and presently through field training exercises organized by non-governmental organizations (NGO), and the agriculture extension officers (AEOs). Farmers can duly conserve compost to improve soil fertility through manual ploughing. In the few instances where the services of tractors were required, farmers spread compost on farmlands before ploughing to appropriately integrate compost in the soil. Farmers either hired the services of women or utilize household labour to convey the compost to farmlands. Secondly, the results showed that farmers applied boundary bunds, mulching and ridging for improving soil and water conservation in crop production. Smallholder farmers developed bunds, raise beds and ridging against soil erosion and for retaining water in the soil. In the preparation process for the ridges, farmers buried stalks of crops beneath to decompose and fertilize the soil. Farmers also developed bunds around the edges of their farmlands to check soil erosion and prevent flood water inundation of crops by creating run-off ways, particularly when the services of tractors were employed for ploughing. Across both communities, smallholder farmer households were found to routinely prepare bunds and ridging. Across farm sizes, farmers develop bunds and ridges on their plots. As disclosed by a 45-year-old farmer in Ko,

“… I use boundary bunds and tired-ridging to improve water retention on my farms and in a situation where tractor service is used, I make “small- small gutters” on the field to prevent all the water from running out of the field or to cause erosion… (A Male Respondent, KII, Ko-13th December 2020).

Likewise, smallholder farmers raised mounds in water-logged areas to limit erosion. The development of mounds was influenced by the type of crops to be cultivated. Farmers disclosed that beds were raised high to cultivate groundnut in water-logged areas. Alongside this, farmers practised mulching – utilizing dry grasses to improve water retention. In the FGDs, farmers disclosed that ridges are imperative, particularly for Bambara nuts and groundnuts.

“…On the valley farms, ridges are used to check soil moisture conservation and erosion. In areas where the land slopes and a tractor service is used, bounds and trenches are used to check erosion. Ridges are necessary when growing crops that do not like much water such as groundnuts and Bambara nuts” (A Female Respondent, FGD, Tanchara, 10th December 2020).

According to farmers, the benefits of boundary bunds were continual. Farmers faced the challenge in the first year of production. Farmers are able to redevelop old boundary bunds easily in subsequent years. However, farmers disclosed that boundary bunds cannot be developed on larger farms.

Finally, at the community level, the results showed that farmers used certain agronomic practices such as cover-cropping, mixed cropping, and crop rotation as a mechanism for soil and water conservation in production in the past through nurtured experiences over generations. Smallholder farmers employed cropping systems, ranging from the cultivation of cover crops, mixed cropping and crop rotations as mechanisms for soil and water conservation. Smallholder farmer households similarly practised cover cropping and mixed cropping towards soil conservation. Farmers cultivated cover crops not only for their economic benefits, but to limit run-off of water from farmlands. Farmers disclosed that the spraying of aerial yam and yams around the mounts help prevented evaporation and soil moisture. Smallholder farmers disclosed that they commonly practice mixed cropping by developing mounds to cultivate yam (dioscorea spp), potatoes (solanum tuberosum), aerial yam (Dioscorea Bulbifera), maize (zea mays) and in some cases okra (abelmoschus esculentus).

Farmers likewise practised crop rotation in both compound and valley farms and smaller plots sizes are used for crop rotation. According to the discussants, the rotation of non-nitrogen embedded crops with nitrogen associated crops helps in soil moisture conservation. As a result, farmers rotate legumes with cereal crops.

Table 1

Smallholder farmers' soil and water management practices
Type of farms	Size of farms	Soil erosion	Soil moisture	Soil fertility
Compound	• Small	• Crop ridging • Boundary bunds • Compost application	• Crop ridging • Mulching • Cover cropping • Boundary bunds	• Compost application • Manure application • Crop-rotation • Inorganic fertilizer.
Valley	• Medium	• Boundary bunds • Crop ridging.	• Mixed cropping • Cropping ridging	• Compost application • Boundary bunds
Garden	• Small	• Drain channels	• Mulching • Sunken beds	• Manure application • Inorganic fertilizer
Bush	• Large	• Abandoned	• Abandoned	• Abandoned

Source Authors’ construct.

The results also indicated that farmers are reducing the sizes of their farms in the various types of farms while increasing soil management practices and more semblance of AEI practices. Currently, bush farms, which happened to be the larger type of farm, are completely abandoned by farmers. Farmer’s attention is more on the cultivation of valley and compound farms as well as gardens. Although the size of the compound and garden farms are under threat by expansion of buildings and completion for space, respectively, farmers are able to sustain their AEI practices through soil and water management (Table 1).

The study focuses on smallholder farmers' soil and water management practices in AEI as a strategy in adapting to climate change effects. The results reveal that smallholder farmer practices in soil and water management are akin to what is described as integrated soil, water and nutrients management (ISWNM) [1, 77]. The findings, as in the practices, reflect a means of adapting smallholder agriculture to climate change. The soil erosion and moisture conservation and management in smallholder farmer production are showcased in the agronomic practices that protect soils against erosion, soil moisture conservation and nutrient management to sustainably increase crop yield in the era of climate change. Smallholder farmers manage soil fertility in their individual farmlands drawing on experiences and knowledge obtained from generations, and farmer-to-farmer interactions in their engagement in farming.

The practices of smallholder farmers in AEI towards climate change adaptation are more geared towards soil fertility management, which necessarily include the use of organic inputs and fertiliser. While these practices enable smallholder farmers to continuously engage in their subsistence production, it is equally worrying how farmers can sustain these practices over time, especially given the recent climatic situations in the study communities, the depletion in trees, grasses, and livestock, which are imperative in compost preparations [13]. Perhaps, to enable smallholder farmers to adapt soil and water conservation practices to the local conditions, the inputs for compost needs to be managed following sound agronomic principles, aiming at maximizing agronomic use efficiency to continuously improve crop production [78].

The practices demonstrate integration of soil and water management practices occurring at different levels. First, there is integration of soil management practices, namely soil fertility management, soil erosion management and soil moisture conservation, at the farm level towards maintaining soil structure and regaining lost fertility for continuous production (Table 1). These practices broadly include organic/green practices and approaches, agronomic practices, and application of chemical fertilizers (least input approach). Contrary to this observations, smallholder farmers engaged in varied practices, in an equally varied farmland type at the farm level [34]. The variations of these practices across farms suggest that soil management practice and knowledge that fit well into local conditions are relevant in achieving an increase in crop production through the efficient utilization of fertilizer and organic resources [71]. Moreover, crop ridging and boundary bunds were inherent in both soil erosion control and moisture conservation methods. However, smallholder farmers practice mulching as the main soil moisture management method, and apply compost and manure for soil fertility management. Similarly, the use of manure is key in AEI, which equally emphasizes regaining and maintaining the structure of the soil for continuous production [5].

The incubation of organic compound like livestock manure and crop residue helps in the improvement of nutrients in farmlands. These are complemented by the application of inorganic fertilizers, the preparation of drainage channels and sunken beds in gardens and the use of cover cropping for moisture conservation. The findings support the claim that soil management is essential in soil moisture conservation for adapting crop cultivation to climate change [7] and the evolving perspective that agronomic practices in the form of crop and livestock integration, and the construction of drains and ridges helps in good soil management in intensifying agriculture [43]. The combination of organic and inorganic fertilizers in improving soil fertility observed in the smallholder farming practices reinforces the assertion that chemical fertilizers, manure and growing of legumes are important in present farming AEI practice. The findings imply that there is the need to pay attention to the farmer-place-based practices in the drive towards developing adaptive strategies to enabling farmers to adapt to climate change, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to the above, the findings suggest that smallholder farmers integrate soil management practices across different types of farms, compound, valley fields, bush farms and gardens. However, the integration is more about compound farms than other types of farms. This is necessitated by the reduction in the sizes of compound farms over the years shaped by land fragmentations, the expansion of family sizes and the construction of new residential houses. The most common soil management practices smallholder farmers engage towards ecological intensification agriculture are the cover cropping and mixed cropping, followed by the preparation of boundary bounds and tied-ridging.

Another line of argument is that the soil and water management practices reflect and reinforce patterns towards AEI in smallholder agriculture. Smallholder farmers’ nutrients and water management strategies are aimed at increasing the yield on limited land size without necessarily increasing the plot sizes [21, 77]. Aside from nutrient management, there are soil moisture and erosional improvement measures that increase the condition of the soil in maximizing yields. Smallholder practices are more or less subjected to continue practicing based on the type of farm applicable as smallholder farmers’ activities itself is “a school without wall”. Overall, the practices of smallholder farmers are characterized by hybridization of organic and agronomic practices, and equally more of a blend of indigenous production and modernity that characterized AEI as an approach for adapting smallholder production to climate change [23, 12]. This blend enables protection of soil fertility on farms. As indicated, the practices cut across the application of manure and compost, boundary ponds and crop ridging and sometimes chemical fertilizers as a complement (Table 1). This is due to the availability of manure and compost at the domain of smallholding farmer households, particularly on the compound farms and the ease of constructing boundary bunds and ridges in the farmland’s management process. These practices seemingly demonstrate an orientation towards the use of the endogenous development approach to farmland management in AEI practices in adapting to climate change because there is more emphasis on the utilization of local knowledge systems and resources due to low financial means to completely adopt the use of chemical fertilizers and other inputs. This perhaps supports the observe that smallholder farmers intensify farming using traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and the adoption of many tillage options suitable for enhancing ecological performances [47, 72] Moreover, the findings corroborate with the observations that the practice of ecological intensification agriculture among smallholder farmers is characterized by the use of improved innovations such as organic matter and compost to reclaim barren farmlands [9, 10].

Lastly, the adaption of ISWNM and AEI practices has benefits for/support climate change adaptation of smallholder farmers. Soil nutrients management is essential in AEI and minimises climatic effects [18, 81, 82]. As part of AEI practices, farmers employ different soil management practices on different types of farms to buffer against total crop failure resulting from climate change and variability. Smallholder farmers blend the use of organic (composting and manure) and inorganic (chemical fertilizer) as soil fertility improvement strategies to increase yield on fixed plots whose nutrients level are affected by climate change. Smallholder farmers are able to adapt to climatic stressors on soil water sufficiency by means of mulching and cover cropping, which increases water retention in periods of drought spelt. Conversely, farmers’ AEI practice in the form of crop ridging and drain channels aim at reducing soil leaching in the era of heavy rainfalls.

The study attempts to explore smallholder farmer specific context agro-ecological farming practices (soil and water conservation practices) and the implications for adapting farming to climate change in Sub-Saharan Africa. Through the narratives of farmer householdsand farmers, the study understood how smallholder farmers practised soil and water conservation. Therefore, the study concludes that smallholder farmers employed integrated soil, water and nutrient management (ISWNM) in their farming practices, which has the semblance of the principles of the SAI approach for climate change adaptation. In doing so, farmers predominantly draw on their local knowledge systems and resources, and blended modern and indigenous practices.

In the search for an appropriate policy response, this paper underscores the relevance of an Endogenous Development (ED) approach to development planning within the context of the top-down approach in Africa. The promotion of ISWNM through an ED approach to planning is imperative if smallholder agriculture is to be sustained under climate change in the study context and Africa at large where similar conditions prevail. An ED approach should promote utilization of local knowledge systems and resources as the predominant factor and/or the basis for development for reinforcing smallholder farming practices embedded in the AEI approach and principles - eco-system services and environmental quality restoration, sustaining yield while minimizing the adverse effects on the environment, maintaining the soil structure and blending local and modernist practices where necessary.

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Data availability

Data available for this study is not in the public domain but would be accessible on special request

Acknowledgement

This work benefitted logistics support from Endogenous Development Service (EDS), a research, consulting and development service organization and a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) research grant under the Ghana-German Center for Development Studies project managed by the Faculty of Planning and Land Management, Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, Wa (formally Wa Campus of the University for Development Studies).

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Agro-ecological intensification for climate change adaptation: Tales on soil and water management practices of smallholder farmers in rural Ghana

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Abstract

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1. Introduction

2. Smallholder Farmers, Soil And Water Management Practices, Aei And Climate Change Adaptation

2.1 Smallholder farmers and smallholder agriculture

2.2 Understanding the key principles of Ecological Agriculture Intensification (AEI) for climate change adaptation

3. Material And Methods

3.1 Study Area

3.2 Data collection and analysis

4. Results

4.1 Soil and water management practices of smallholder farmers

4.2 Synthesis soil and water management practices of smallholder farmers

5. Implications For Adapting Smallholder Farmers’ Food Crops Productions To Climate Change Via Aei Practices

6. Conclusion And Implications For Development Planning

Declarations

Disclosure statement

Data availability

Acknowledgement

References

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