International Journal of Sciences: Basic and Applied Research (IJSBAR) ISSN 2307-4531 http://gssrr.org/index.php?journal=JournalOfBasicAndApplied Impact of Climate Change: Views and Perceptions of Policy Makers on Smallholder Agriculture in Ghana Emmanuel Kodjo Tettehª*, Nelson Obirih Oparehᵇ, Richard Ampaduᶜ, Kwabena Barimah Antwi d ª* Research Scientist, Science and Technology Policy Research Institute, Box CT. 519 Accra +233 Ghana ᵇPrincipal Research Scientist, Science and Technology Policy Research Institute, Box CT. 519 Accra +233 Ghana ᶜResearch Scientist, Science and Technology Policy Research Institute, Box CT. 519 Accra +233 Ghana d Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Social Science, University of Cape Coast, Private Mail Bag, +233 University of Cape Coast, Ghana ª* ekotetteh@yahoo.co.uk ᵇnobirih_opareh@yahoo.com ᶜr.ampadu@yaho.com d k_bantwi@yahoo.co.uk Abstract The threat of global climate change has caused intense debate among policy makers as agricultural productivity and food security risks considerable decline due to changes in rainfallpatterns and temperature. Although the impact of climate change on crop yields vary greatly from region to region, smallholder farmers in developing countries who depend solely on rain-fed agriculture are among the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. While the successes in agricultural production in Africa and Ghana over the last decades are heralded, the inequitable distribution of benefits and unsustainable impacts on natural resources are becoming more evident. Many authors have blamed global warming and climate change on the emission of greenhouse gasses however, farming methods and other human activities are also to blame for the emerging change in the climate. Therefore, bringing farming practices and ecosystem services into decision-making in order to make full use of the potential gains from working with the natural environment and the underpinning biophysical processes is imperative. This paper assesses the views and perceptions of Ghanaian policy makers on the impact of climate change on smallholder agricultural productivity in order to sustain agricultural productivity in Ghana. The study used data from a case study conducted by the Environment Policy Action Node Project with sponsorship from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) in Ghana between 2012 and 2013. An interview guide was used to collect qualitatively data from 35 key policy making institutions/organization in Ghana. One important finding of the paper is that even though Ghana has a climate change policy, most of the policy makers were not aware of the policy document and its contents. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Corresponding author. E-mail address: ekotetteh@yahoo.co.uk. 79 brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by GSSRR.ORG: International Journals: Publishing Research Papers in all Fields