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Researchers into climate change and food security have been asked to work with indigenous farmers,  with a view to adopting and adapting their knowledge to modern approaches to farming, to ensure food security in the future.     

Professor Clement Dorm Adzobu, Vice-President of the Evangelical Presbyterian University College (EPUC),  and Dr Yaovi Nuto, University of Lome, Togo,  made the recommendation in Ho on Wednesday.

They were speaking at the second Spieth, Agama, Abloh and Amoaku (SAAA) Lectures in Ho, instituted by the EPUC,  in collaboration with the Volta Regional Museum.

The theme for this year’s lectures was: “The Impact of Climate Change on Livelihood Systems in the Volta Region,” and sponsored jointly by Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation, Goethe-Institut, Accra, Mayflower, Ho, Flair Catering, Accra, Konrad-Adenaur Foundation, Accra and Bremen Mission, Germany.

The main lecture was on “Climate Change, Livelihoods and Migration in Ghana.”

Speaking on “Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Adaptation to Climate Change,” Professor Adzorbu  asserted that traditional systems of agriculture, natural resource conservation and management, primary health care and observance, provide rich knowledge bases that could blend with modernity to resolve the dilemma of climate change in Ghana.

He said the traditional system of inter-cropping was a buffer against crop failure due to climate vagaries.

Similarly,  the observance of taboo days helped to protect land and water resources, while the knowledge and skills of traditional herbalists helped to resolve several health problems.

He lamented that this traditional medicine base was being lost, because of the use of agro-chemicals and large scale preparation of land,  using tractors.

Professor Adzobu said the indigenous community development approach where groups of farmers helped its members to cultivate and plant their crops,  was also a useful approach that needed to be adopted.

He said the extended family system and susu systems could help mobilize resources to resolve the economic impact of climate change.

Speaking on “Climate Change and Food Security,” Dr Nuto said researchers must work closely with indigenous farmers, and apply their rich knowledge gained from several years of experience, to solve the problem of food insecurity associated with climate change.

He said climate change was creating new situations which necessitated “adoptive” strategies to ensure food security.

Dr Nuto said farmers know how to formulate solutions to food security.

He said “premature” solutions that cannot be sustained must be avoided.

Dr Nuto explained that the use of improved early maturing maize varieties to beat drought,  could fail under climate change situations,  and suggested that local maize with a longer maturity period must be looked at critically.

He explained that the resilience of the early maturing maize to drought was suspect,  but the local drought resistant variety was capable of producing some yields.

On his views on Genetically Modified Agriculture in solving food insecurity, Dr Nuto said it could solve the problem of food insecurity to some extent, “but for how long?  he asked.

He said under the GM,  agriculture farmers would be over reliant on those who produce seeds.

Dr Nuto said GM crops could also pose health risks to consumers,  because they were chemically treated to resist pests.

He said the chemical contents of those crops could also pose health risks to humans.

Professor Samuel Nii Arday Codjoe,  who spoke on “Climate Change, Livelihoods and Mitigation in Ghana, ” said a survey in the Dangbe East District revealed that  52 percent of the people there would be willing to be relocated elsewhere to escape the vagaries of coastal erosion by the  sea.

He said 48 percent of the respondents had no intention to relocate.

Professor Codjoe said the coastal belt of Ghana which constitute about seven percent of the country, land area gas economic potentials but faced the threat from the sea.

He said the mitigation measures instituted by government mainly through engineering,  seemed to provide a temporary solution to the problem in those locations where sea defence systems were provided,  but these have only shifted the problem to other areas.

He said results of mitigation measures were mixed and there was the need to take a hard look at the livelihood patterns of the coastal communities.

Other themes to be deliberated on are “waste management”, “community issues, ”  “ climate change and land degradation.”