` Mapping and validating new climate smart agriculture (CSA) technologies and climate information services (CIS) in Ghana. Technical Report [xxx] Report Stephen Yeboah. Joseph Adomako. Ernestina Narveh Awarikabey.Patricia Amankwa-Yeboah. Kofi Frimpong-Anin. Joyce Haleegoah. Richard Adablah. NOVEMBER • 2024 To cite this report Yeboah, S., Adomako, J., Awarikabey, E.N., Amankwaah-Yeboah, P., Frimpong-Anin, K., Haleegoah, J and Adablah, R. 2024. Technical Report: Mapping and validating new climate smart agriculture (CSA) technologies and climate information services (CIS) in Ghana. Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) Acknowledgements Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) is a project that helps deliver a climate-smart African future driven by science and innovation in agriculture. It is led by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and supported by a grant from the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank. The authors would like to thank our farmers and staff of the Department of Agriculture at various intervention districts. About AICCRA Reports Titles in this series aim to disseminate interim research on the scaling of climate services and climate- smart agriculture in Africa, in order to stimulate feedback from the scientific community. Photos © AICCRA / Samuel Lamptey Disclaimer This working paper has not been peer reviewed. Any opinions stated herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the policies or opinions of AICCRA, donors, or partners. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution – Non-commercial 4.0 International License. © 2024 Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) About AICCRA Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) is a project that helps deliver a climate-smart African future driven by science and innovation in agriculture. It is led by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and supported by a grant from the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank. Explore our work at aiccra.cgiar.org aiccra.cgiar.org aiccra@cgiar.org CGIARAfrica AICCRA Technical Report | Mapping and validating new CSA technologies and CIS in Ghana ii CONTENTS CONTENTS ................................................................................................................ II 1.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 2.0 FOCUS ............................................................................................................................ 1 2.1 Trichoderma asperellum powder and Compost as validated CS-IPM and Soil Fertility improvement innovation for crop production ................................................................. 1 2.2 Crop diversification and tied ridging for adaptation among smallholder farmers .............................................................................................................................................. 2 2.3 Promotion smart production and soil packages to enhance resilience and productivity .......................................................................................................................... 3 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................... 4 References ........................................................................................................................... 5 AICCRA Technical Report | Mapping and validating new CSA technologies and CIS in Ghana 1 1.0 Introduction Food crop producing zones are encountering numerous challenges including unpredictable weather patterns characterized by droughts and floods, soil degradation due to inadequate conservation practices, limited access to mechanization, pests and diseases and insufficient utilization of Agro-advisories. At the same time, arable land and other production resources are limited, and area expansion for food production is not appropriate or recommended in the spate of urbanization and multiple land uses. With extensive urbanization and competition for farmlands for other projects, any increase in crop production should be met mainly by increased productivity i.e., improved crop yields per unit area than the increase in cultivated areas. Sustainable food production technology is imperative to curb food insecurity, reduce poverty, and impact the livelihood of smallholder farmers. Ghana is highly vulnerable to climate variability and change, which continues to pose a threat to future growth and development. Resilience must therefore be built into its food systems to reduce the vulnerability of smallholder farmers. The promotion and uptake of validated new climate smart agriculture (CSA) technologies and climate information services (CIS) in Ghana through capacity strengthening, demonstration, and awareness creation is important to reducing the current challenges militating against food crop production. 2.0 Focus This report summarises the outcomes of validating and promoting three (3) new climate smart agriculture (CSA) technologies and climate information services (CIS) in Ghana. The three CSA-CIS technologies are the co- application of Trichoderma asperellum powder and compost as validated Climate Smart Integrated Pest Management (CS-IPM) and soil fertility improvement innovation for sustainable crop production, crop diversification and tied ridging for adaptation among smallholder farmers, and smart production and soil packages in enhancing crop resilience and productivity. These technologies were promoted in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, the district, community CSA hubs as well as input dealers. 2.1 Trichoderma asperellum powder and Compost as validated CS-IPM and Soil Fertility improvement innovation for crop production Narratives Trichoderma asperellum powder and compost are being promoted as an integrated approach to address the effects of pests and diseases (CS-IPM) and declining soil fertility in yam production. Trichoderma species are being promoted as beneficial micro-organism used as inoculants for biofertilization and biocontrol. The application enhances photosynthetic efficiency and nutrient uptake and increase nitrogen use efficiency in crops, when applied as seed treatment. This makes Trichoderma inoculant very essential for yam production given the high incidences of virus and nematode infestation. Compost application improves soil nutrients by enhancing soil physical, chemical and biological properties. It also improves soil carbon and water retention capacity. A very important function of compost application in this study is that it provides a food source for Trichoderma to fasten decomposition of organic matter which makes nutrients available to enhance crop performance. Trichoderma-enriched compost help maintain crop yield and reduce chemical fertilizers use in farming. Integrated application of Trichoderma powder, compost, and neem seed cake/ neem leaf powder helps to manage climate-induced biotic and abiotic stresses including soil-borne pathogens and improve soil conditions AICCRA Technical Report | Mapping and validating new CSA technologies and CIS in Ghana 2 for yam production. The neem powder plays a dual role of improving soil organic matter and also as a biopesticide. Technology Package and Approach for Deployment Participatory learning approach was used to established fifteen (15) community CSA hubs (See Yeboah et al., 2024a; Obeng Adomaa et al., 2024:2) for the promotion of the combined application of Trichoderma asperellum powder and Compost in Techiman North, Kintampo North, and Kintampo South in Bono East region (Adomako et al., 2024), a dominant yam producing zone in Ghana. Each community CSA hub demonstrated the application of Trichoderma powder for treating seed yam as an alternative to synthetic pesticides, and the application of compost as a soil amender. Other complementary technologies included application of need seed cake, planting on ridges instead of mounds and the use of trellis as a staking option. Each CSA hub compared the promoted technologies alongside their conventional practice. Outputs Farmers and Agricultural Extension officers benefitted from enhanced Knowledge of Trichoderma and compost as biofertilizers and biopesticides. Three hundred and seventy (370) participants consisting of 350 farmers, and twenty (20) extension officers received enhanced capacitation on the Trichoderma and compost as biofertilizers and biopesticides (Adomako et al., 2024). 140 (40.0%) and 210 (60.0%) of the participants were female and male respectively. All the participants indicated that it was their first experience using or knowing about Trichoderma powder as seed treatment and about 85% indicated that application of compost for yam production is an innovation. Increased awareness and access to the innovations was achieved through 18 community field days that reached Five-hundred and twenty-seven (62.0%) male farmers and 323 (38.0%) female farmers respectively (Adomako et al., 2024). Participants were introduced to One health concept, integrated pest management, biological control agents, and compost application. Almost all the participants of the field days had not used the technology before the demonstration. Combined application of the CS-IPM innovations increased yam seed vigour and seedling establishment. On count basis, 75.0% of seed yam seeds treated with Trichorderma powder and compost germinated compared to 50.0% from farmer practice plots, which translated to higher (25%) tuber yields (Adomako et al., 2024). Significantly, AICCRA intervention reduced the number of harvested yam tubers with symptoms of soil-borne pathogens and arthropod pest damage. 30.0% tubers (960) from conventional plots showed symptoms of tuber galling, tuber cracking, and holes whereas only 10.0% of tubers (1160) harvested from AICCRA innovation plots presented similar symptoms. Translating obtained yam yield to income, at a price of USD2.56/tuber (https://3news.com, June 20, 2024), using AICCRA intervention can increase farmers' income by USD512.0 more than conventional practices. Enhancing Access to the Technologies To support farmers to access these technologies, participants were introduced to input suppliers such as Demeter Ghana, ACARP organic fertilizer company, and Widows and Orphans Movement (WOM) in the Upper East Region involved in marketing Trichoderma powder, compost and neem seed cake respectively. 2.2 Crop diversification and tied ridging for adaptation among smallholder farmers AICCRA Technical Report | Mapping and validating new CSA technologies and CIS in Ghana 3 Narrative Climate change has made it difficult to rely on single crops during the cropping season. Moreover, due to frequent dry spells and erratic rainfall, water conservation is key to sustainable crop production especially in AICCRA intervention communities which constitute part of Ghana’s climate hotspots. Dual purpose cowpea known locally as Kirkhouse benga and drought tolerant groundnut variety known as Sarinut 2 were promoted in an intercropping system using different landforms (tied ridging, flat planting, and normal ridging). The validated CSA that was promoted is the intercropping as an alternate cropping system to promote diversification to reduce farmers’ vulnerability to climate change as well as tied ridging as an improved landform for soil water conservation. By tying the ridges, water is conserved in the ridges and improve water availability to the crop. Technology Package and Approach for Deployment The validated CSA technologies demonstrated include tied ridging, groundnut-maize, and cowpea-maize intercropping systems. The participatory learning approach was employed to deploy CSA innovations across community CSA hubs. The community CSA hubs are managed by farmers, and extension officers in charge of the communities (Yeboah et al. 2024a). The farmers come together and undertake activities such as field selection and preparation, planting, and field maintenance of the hubs. The lead farmers and extension officers facilitated discussions on the importance of each activity or technology being promoted. Outputs Sixty-seven (67) community CSA Hubs were established to showcase community-specific bundles. Forty-four (44) and twenty-three (23) hubs introduced cereal-legume intercrop, groundnut innovations, and tied ridging (Yeboah et al., 2024b). Community engagement activities were organized to increase awareness and t determine which innovations farmers preferred The community engagement activities like field days and field training sessions organized directly reached 4820 participants (mainly smallholder farmers and extension officers) of which 2532 (53.0 %) and 2288 (47.0 %) were male and female respectively (Yeboah et al., 2024b). The activities were held at different periods of the cropping season to bring together as many farmers and other stakeholders as possible. Field days and field training sessions were used by stakeholders to observe, learn, share experiences. These approaches help improve the technologies and facilitate adoption. Farmers embraced Sarinut 2 an improved groundnut variety for its early maturity and high-yielding characteristics. Cowpea and groundnut are notably gender-responsive crops, often cultivated and managed by women in Ghana's smallholder farming communities. It was asserted that the cowpea and groundnut technologies improved the decision-making power of women as it allows them to own their own farms and produce. Participants were excited with the introduction of Sarinut 2 as they are assured of higher yield which could translate to higher income and livelihood improvement. The achieved yield of almost 2 tons per hectare far surpasses the current national average yield of 1.84 tons for groundnuts in Ghana (https://ipad.fas.usda.gov/countrysummary/Default.aspx?id=GH&crop=Peanut). Similarly, the yields obtained were higher than the national average for cowpeas (0.7 t/ha) (MoFA, 2022). Enhancing Access to the Technologies The climate smart farmers (CS-farmers) were linked to input suppliers such as M&B Company Limited and Antika Seed Limited for the supply of groundnut and cowpea seeds to ensure sustainability of the project. 2.3 Promotion smart production and soil packages to enhance resilience and productivity AICCRA Technical Report | Mapping and validating new CSA technologies and CIS in Ghana 4 Narrative Agro-advisories and good agronomic practices play a crucial role in guiding farmers in making farm management decisions regarding planting times, pest control, soil nutrient and water management. It offers farmers timely and location-specific guidance on weather management, allowing them to plan planting and other field-based activities more effectively, thereby reducing crop losses and increasing yields. The activity reported here evaluated the effectiveness of smart production and soil packages encompassing Agro- advisories, good agronomic practices, and smart crop production equipment within the Guinea Savannah zone of Ghana. Field demonstrations are a crucial component of technology evaluation, awareness, and adoption. By promoting smart production and soil packages including Agro-advisories farmers received composite information and knowledge to mitigate crop production challenges. Technology Package and Approach for Deployment The smart production and soil packages integrated three key components: Agro-advisories, good agronomic practices, and essential crop production equipment as mechanization enablers (Amankwaa-Yeboah et al., 2024). The Agro-advisories, provide farmers with timely and location-specific advice on weather, soil moisture, and pest/disease management; good agronomic practices; and essential crop production equipment, particularly simple mechanization tools. The technology package was implemented through capacity building for farmers and extension agents, demonstrations, and awareness creation. A standard operating procedure and protocol was developed to guide operations of the package including data collection and analysis. Output Five (5) community CSA Hubs were established to showcase the smart production and soil packages. To accelerate adoption of the technologies, thirty-one baby demonstration fields were established by climate smart farmers (CS-farmers) to showcase the technologies at their farm level. This approach promoted farmer to farmer learning. Stakeholder engagement activities were organized to increase awareness and determine preference for innovations by farmers. One hundred and sixty-two (162) and two hundred and fifty-five (255) farmers and extension officers participated in the field day during the establishment of the demonstration plots and harvesting respectively. Also, two hundred and sixty-five (265) participated in the farmers forum and presentation of sustainable agriculture farm tools. In total, six hundred and eighty-two (682) end users were reached directly under the smart production and soil packages. Enhancing Access to the Technologies The project beneficiaries have been linked to service providers such Crop Doctor for sustainable agriculture mechanization equipment, and input dealers such as M&B Company Limited and Antika Seed Limited for the supply of groundnut, maize and cowpea seeds. The end users have also been linked to digital service providers such as Syecomp and Farmerline to access agro-advisories. CONCLUSION Co-application of Trichoderma asperellum powder and compost produced higher and clean tuber yield and was largely preferred by farmers and extension officers. Tied ridging help conserve water and therefore resulted in higher yields and income compared to the conventional planting method. The decision-making potential of women farmers was enhanced with the implementation of the groundnut value chain. The integrated approach of combining agroadvisories, efficient mechanization tools, and good agronomic practices yielded significant benefits. The integrated approach did not only improved crop yields and reduced labour intensity but also fostered sustainable farming practices that are crucial for the long-term resilience and productivity of smallholder farms. AICCRA Technical Report | Mapping and validating new CSA technologies and CIS in Ghana 5 References Adomako, Adomako, J. et al., (2024). Building the Resilience of Smallholder Farmers to Climate-Induced Pests and Diseases Through Promotion of CS-IPM Innovations. Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA), AICCRA Technical Report. Amankwaa-Yeboah P., Ofosu-Ampofo K., Masoud J., Akpatsu, I.B., Yeboah S., Jizorkuwie, A.B., Kyerematen A.A. and Abera W. 2024. 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Building Resilience of Farming Landscape Through Climate-smart Agriculture Hub. Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA), AICCRA Technical Report. Yeboah, S., Adomako, J., Amankwa-Yeboah, P., Awarikabey, E.N., Frimpong-Anin, K., Haleegoah, J., Adablah. R. 2024b. Promoting crop diversification and tied ridging for adaptation among small holder farmer. Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA), AICCRA Technical Report. aiccra.cgiar.org info@cgiar.org CGIARAfrica