Soil scientists warn of worsening food crisis

Accra, Nov. 6, GNA - Soil scientists have warned of worsening food insecurity in the next decades unless pragmatic measures were adopted to enhance soil productivity by minimising the effects of changing weather patterns.

Quoting from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which predicted that climate change, could cause potential crop yields from rain-fed agriculture to decline by 50 per cent in some African countries by 2050 while the population increased from 770 million in 2005 to 1.5 billion in 2050, the scientists said this would result in soaring prices for inadequate food which would make most of the people hungry. Dr. Kofi Budu Laryea, a Professor at the Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences, University of Ghana, said the current farming practices (slash and burn) involving burning to clear the land, taking away of the top soil, did not encourage environmental sustainability but rather fuelled climate change. He was delivering a lecture at a climate change symposium in Accra on Friday, organised by the Soil Science Society of Ghana, on the topic: "Possible Impacts of Climate Change on Soil Physical Processes and the Environment".

It was attended by members of the academia, civil society, NGOs and representatives of United Nations agencies. Prof. Laryea said those farming practices coupled with industrial revolution had led to an increase in greenhouse emissions causing high atmospheric temperature which had resulted in the current rising sea surface levels and erratic rainfall pattern globally. He said the increasing effects of climate change meant that there would be decrease in vegetation growth leading to less addition of biomass to the soil which would lead to increased organic matter decomposition and loss, the effects of which would be land degradation spiral resulting in productivity losses.

Prof. Laryea urged farmers to avoid any farming practice that would involve tillage which would affect soil structure and called for the adoption of conservation tillage, which allowed 30 per cent coverage of soil surface by residues after planting, to make agricultural lands withstand the effects of climate change.

Dr. Musah Farihou Mbenga, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Representative for Africa who spoke on the topic "Climate Change and Food Security in Africa and Ghana in particular" called for agricultural practice that would contribute to reduced greenhouse gas emissions to improve the quality, availability and efficiency of land use. He said there should be policy focus on rural investments to reduce the long-term effects of short-term climate variability on food security, through crop insurance and incentives that would encourage farmers to adopt better agricultural land use practices. Dr. Mbenga noted that the effects of climate change also held bleak future for fisheries and aquaculture dependent people since production and marketing costs would rise as against decrease in buying and exports. He stressed the need for improved decentralisation and bottom-up processes in line with the high heterogeneity of agro-climatic conditions leading to specific and innovative solutions. Dr. Seth Kofi Akyea Danso, a Professor at Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences, University of Ghana who spoke on the topic "Impacts of Soil Management on Climate Change" called for proper management of soil to improve its organic matter level for improved crop yield. Dr F.M. Tetteh, President of the Society, said the symposium was to stimulate debate and generate ideas towards the forthcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference scheduled for Copenhagen in December. He said the presentations would be made available to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Agriculture for action to improve the country's food production status in the face of climate change. 6 Nov. 09