NGO inaugurated to aid Ghana's climate change resilience

A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) christened, Climate Change Advisors Ghana (CCAG) that seeks to promote climate change mitigation, adaptation and environmental sustainability and renewable energy in Africa has been inaugurated in Cape Coast.

The NGO further seeks to assist the country's attempts to conserve biodiversity, enhance smallholder farmer livelihoods, and reduce emissions from land-use changes in Ghana's high forest and transition zones

Speaking at the inauguration, the Co-founder and Executive Director of CCAG, Dzifa Ahadzi observed that climate change had received a little attention in the country, and that it required special effort to counteract negative environmental practices that further harmed the environment.

He said it was past time for stakeholders to move rapidly because of the devastating consequences of climate change on the country's agriculture and other sectors of the economy.

"The impact of climate change on our environment is very huge and we need to put measures in place to mitigate such impact soonest and this NGO is ready to take up climate change matters by providing advocacy, research policy analysis, capacity development, training and policy direction for governments and other stakeholders to realise the goal."

Collaboration

Mr. Ahadzi emphasized the importance of multi-stakeholder engagement in order to improve education on climate-friendly initiatives.

He stated that stakeholders must collaborate closely in order to provide timely inputs and avoid calamities.

Guest speaker for the event, Dr Samuel Ofori urged essential players in the agriculture sector to immediately implement measures to offset the impact of climate change on agriculture.

He observed that agriculture in Africa was heavily reliant on natural weather and that climate change constituted a big threat to the sector.

Dr. Ofori went on to say that in order for the government to dramatically lessen the impact of climate change on the country's agricultural sector, stakeholders must respond promptly to the growing threat and comprehend the concerns surrounding what to do in terms of survival."

"The agriculture that we do on Africa depends on the natural weather and this is the situation where the natural weather is changing gradually and so you cannot really plan on what to do or plan for agriculture because of what will happen, the more reason why we must act promptly to avert any mishap."

He advised that the government and other stakeholders take practical steps such as passing rules to ramp up the fight against environmentally harmful activities, educating people in the agriculture industry, and adopting local ways that encourage healthy farming practices.