The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana has warned that prolonged dry conditions affecting farms in Ghana’s northern and middle belts are destroying crops, drying up water sources and threatening the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.
Dr Benjamin Sarfo program officer with the association, said the situation posed a growing threat to food security, with implications for farmers, rural households and consumers.
Speaking on Globe TV’s News Lens on Monday, November 9, 2026, he called for urgent government support to help affected farmers protect their crops and withstand the losses.
Dr Sarfo said farmers were experiencing crop losses as dry conditions persisted, while rivers, streams and dams used for farming and livestock were drying up.
He described the situation as particularly worrying for smallholder farmers who depend on these water sources but have limited access to irrigation.
“So the situation looks a bit worrying,” he said, adding that farmers’ livelihoods were under threat.
According to him, the Ghana Meteorological Agency had engaged the association to explain the changing weather conditions. The association had, in turn, shared the information with farmers through its regional, district and community-level representatives.
However, he said awareness alone could not address the immediate difficulties facing farmers whose crops were already in the fields.
Dr Sarfo said losses on small farms could have wider consequences for food availability because produce from individual farmers is aggregated to supply markets across the country.
When farmers cultivating one or two acres lose their crops, he explained, the combined shortfall could disrupt supplies and put upward pressure on food prices.
He expressed particular concern for rural households that depend almost entirely on farming for both food and income.
“What about the local areas, the district, the local communities who depend solely on their farms?” he asked. “This is really a livelihood threat to them.”
He warned that the impact would extend beyond farming communities to consumers, especially if poor crop performance in the northern and middle belts continued into the next season.
Dr Sarfo acknowledged ongoing engagement with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and local agriculture departments, but questioned how much immediate relief advice on climate-resilient seeds and farming practices could offer farmers who had already planted.
He said the association was pushing for practical support to help farmers withstand the current conditions, including access to climate-resilient crops and seeds, fertilisers and emergency irrigation.
“We are calling on the government … to see how best to support the farmers,” he said.
He also urged authorities to consider drip irrigation and other emergency measures to help sustain affected farms.
Ghana is bracing for significant climate impacts as the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) confirms the developing El Niño weather phenomenon raising concerns about prolonged dry spells, rising temperatures and possible disruptions to agricultural production.
In a technical brief revised on October 27, 2026, the Ghana Meteorological Agency estimates a 96 per cent chance of the event reaching very strong intensity between November 2026 and January 2027, with the phenomenon expected to persist into early 2027.
The agency says previous El Niño episodes have exposed Ghana to rainfall disruptions, affecting farming, water supply, hydroelectric power generation and public health. GMet notes that the effects may vary across the country, depending partly on conditions in the tropical Atlantic Ocean.
Recent weather patterns have already highlighted these regional differences, with heavy rainfall causing flooding in parts of southern Ghana in June, while prolonged dry spells affected farming activities in parts of the north.
The developing situation has raised concerns about farmers’ preparedness, food production and Ghana’s ability to manage possible climate-related disruptions in 2027.
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