Project

Context

In Ghana and many other countries in the Global South, smallholder farming is the main livelihood for a large share of the population. Many farm households have limited access to essential infrastructure and services, such as high-quality inputs, weather forecasts, and agricultural insurance. These constraints keep agricultural productivity at low levels and make farmers vulnerable to extreme weather events and increasing climate variability. To ensure the sustainability of rural livelihoods, it is important to understand the impacts of extreme weather events on farm households and to find effective ways to support adaptation.

The research project aims to generate new knowledge on how extreme weather events affect the well-being of farm households and shape farmers’ investments in climate change adaptation. At the core of the project is the implementation of a new household panel survey with two waves, which we analyze with econometric methods. The geographic focus is on northern Ghana, a region strongly reliant on rainfed agriculture.

The DecLaRe Ghana Agricultural Household Panel Survey is conducted among 3,000 rural households in northern Ghana. Survey households live in 200 villages in Northern, Savannah, Upper West, Upper East, and North East regions. The survey is representative of the rural population in northern Ghana, with the sample drawn from the 2021 Population Census. The questionnaire records detailed information on the socio-demographic characteristics of household members, migration, agricultural activities, land tenure, climate adaptation strategies, agricultural insurance, perceptions of climate change, income, and food security, amongst others. The first wave was implemented October to December 2023, while the second wave is implemented April to May 2025.

Based on this new database, we use rigorous study designs to analyze how extreme weather events, including the 2024 dry spell, affect the agricultural yields, food security, and health of farm households. Our research also examines the drivers and effectiveness of farmers’ strategies to cope with extreme weather events, including labor migration and agricultural insurance. Additionally, we investigate how farmers’ risk perception and weather expectations determine their decision-making in farming and adaptation investments.

In this project, we collaborate with the “Decision support for strengthening land resilience in the face of global challenges (DecLaRe)” research consortium funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR). We implement the household survey and research jointly with the Potsdam-Institut für Klimafolgenforschung, the University for Development Studies, Ghana Statistical Services, and Ruhr-Universität Bochum.

Project start:
01. January 2023

Project end:
31. October 2026

Project management:
Dr. Julian Röckert, Prof. Dr. Kati Krähnert

Project partners:
Potsdam-Institut für Klimafolgenforschung , University of Development Studies, Ghana Statistical Services, Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Funding:
RWI – Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung