Page 60 - AFAP Success Stories 2020

Impact on production
Over the past years, climate change and a concomitant
irregular rainfall pattern has been one of the major
stumbling blocks preventing farmers from achieving
high yields. Farmers, and especially smallholder farmers
who do not have access to irrigation and mechanised
farming techniques, have been battling with low yields
due to this dwindling rainfall pattern. They are therefore
unable to predict the right time to plant their crops.
As Ghana continues to confirm more COVID-19 cases,
Government might be compelled to put in place stricter
measures beyond social distancing, such as a complete
lockdown and a restriction on movements.

Consequently, over the short term, agricultural
production might typically be constrained by declining
demand due to these preventative measures, which, in
turn, could lead to increased unemployment and loss of
income. Also, over the medium-to-long term, access to
key inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and pesticides and
rural credit might equally become a limiting factor.

Without doubt, smallholder farmers will be facing
additional woes; not only the inconsistent rainfall
pattern, but also the indirect consequences of COVID-19,
such as the reduction in markets for their produce, an
absence of labour, and the lack of available agro-inputs
and extension services.

This means that farmers might not have access to the
inputs required during the planting seasons and, in
instances where these inputs are available, they might
not necessarily be available when needed. For example,
a total lockdown will result in the closure of input shops.
Therefore, a maize farmer who requires fertilizer and
other inputs for his crops at a particular time, might not