Attentiveness to Early Warning Drought Information: Implications for Policy Support and Climate Risk Reduction in Ghana

Peter Dok Tindan; Divine Odame Appiah; Alexander Yao Segbefia

doi:10.1007/s13753-021-00390-2

Volume 13 Issue 1

Mar. 2022

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Peter Dok Tindan, Divine Odame Appiah, Alexander Yao Segbefia. Attentiveness to Early Warning Drought Information: Implications for Policy Support and Climate Risk Reduction in Ghana[J]. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2022, 13(1): 25-37. doi: 10.1007/s13753-021-00390-2

Citation:

Peter Dok Tindan, Divine Odame Appiah, Alexander Yao Segbefia. Attentiveness to Early Warning Drought Information: Implications for Policy Support and Climate Risk Reduction in Ghana[J]. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2022, 13(1): 25-37. doi: 10.1007/s13753-021-00390-2

Citation:

Peter Dok Tindan, Divine Odame Appiah, Alexander Yao Segbefia. Attentiveness to Early Warning Drought Information: Implications for Policy Support and Climate Risk Reduction in Ghana[J]. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2022, 13(1): 25-37. doi: 10.1007/s13753-021-00390-2

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Attentiveness to Early Warning Drought Information: Implications for Policy Support and Climate Risk Reduction in Ghana

doi: 10.1007/s13753-021-00390-2

Department of Geography and Rural Development, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ashanti Region, Ghana

Funds:

We gratefully acknowledge the support and cooperation received from the crop farmers in Talensi District during the field survey.

Available Online: 2022-03-04

Abstract

Abstract

Successful drought planning is dependent on the generation of timely and accurate early warning information. Yet there is little evidence to explain the extent to which crop farmers pay attention to and assimilate early warning drought information that aids in the policy formulation in support of drought risk reduction. A socioecological survey, using a structured questionnaire administered to 426 crop farming households, was carried out in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region, Ghana. The data analytic techniques used were frequency tables, relative importance index, and multinomial logistics embedded in SPSS v.20 software. The results show that crop farmers predominantly rely on agricultural extension officers for early warning drought information, with an estimated 78% of them paying little to very much attention to the information. The likelihood ratio Chi-square test showed that there is a significant improvement in fit as X² (20)=96.792, p < 0.000. Household status, average monthly income, and age were the significant predictors for crop farmers paying no attention at all to early warning drought information, while household status was the only significant factor among those paying a little attention. The drive to build a climate-resilient society with effective early warning centers across Ghana will receive 60% lower support from crop farmers paying no to a little attention as compared to farmers paying very much attention to early warning drought information. Broader stakeholder engagements should be carried out to harness inclusive support from crop farmers to build a climate-resilient society in Ghana.
- Attentiveness to early drought warning,
- Climate risk,
- Drought risk reduction,
- Ghana

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References(48)

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