Impact of Climate variability and change on agricultural productivity in the three northern regions of Ghana

Agriculture in the three regions of the north is mainly subsistence and rain-fed with very limited irrigation facilities. Traditional approach to agriculture in the region is therefore being threatened by erratic rainfall, high temperature, drought and floods due mainly to a changing climate. This research, therefore, examines the climate in the Upper West, Upper East and Northern regions and its impacts on agriculture productivity. It began with an extensive desktop study and the collection of rainfall and temperature data from 1961-2010 from the three regions. The data was analyzed to determine the rainfall and temperature trends and their significance using XLSTAT software and basic statistical tools and subsequently tested with the Modified Mann-Kendal’s test to confirm the increasing or decreasing trends and their significance. The results showed that the climate is changing with an increasing temperature and decreasing rainfall trends across the three regions. The test also confirmed a significant increase in temperature but no trend in rainfall at 95% level of confidence. The change in the climate is also observed to have significant impact on agriculture. The knowledge in the climate variation and change will be relevant to decision and policy makers, farmers, water users, water providers, NGOs and students as a whole. The research was concluded with suggested strategies as policy options to help improve climate change adaptation and agricultural productivity