Sensitization workshop held on climate change and sustainable development

Climate change and its devastating effects have been well-documented across the globe.

As issues continue to surface, the Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Studies (C3SS), University of Ghana, has ensured the conversation continued hosting a 2-day knowledge dissemination workshop for stakeholders.

The workshop which commenced on Thursday, November 26, 2020, and held at the Centre for African Wetlands, was under the theme, “Creating Impactful Knowledge for Sustainable Development.”

Speaking on Climate Change and Smallholder Farming in Ghana, Associate Professor at the UG Department of Geography and Research Development, Professor Kwadwo Owusu, advised smallholder farmers to take up stringent measures to avoid food insecurity.

“…this thing I call a market option. You ask them ‘but all of you are putting these lands to cashew. The canopy will close what will you eat? They say we will buy rice. But what are you going to use to buy? What about the crop itself failing. It can be attacked by pests, by diseases but the farmers don’t think so but it is real.

“The farmers think that they will tolerate the disease. It is not true! So we need to be careful and besides the government had a policy to supply them with seedlings and supply them,” he said.

Dr. Daniel Benefoh, an official from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) highlighted plans put in place by the Agency to adopt the ‘debt for climate swap’ which is intended to help countries in negotiating their debts.

“The ‘debt for climate swap’ is a very interesting instrument that explores the possibility of countries that are likely to compound their public debts and are required to pay the debts in hard currencies to the creditors."

“So the whole idea is to negotiate with the creditors to allow the country like Ghana, to pay the loan in local currency."

He also disclosed that “the loan will be paid into a fund to be used to support green projects but the terms of that will be agreed by Ghana and those that we are indebted to. So this concept is what we are looking into now and we intend to advise the Ministry of Finance on it.”

The Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Studies (C3SS) has a vision to be a leader in climate change and sustainability research and learning in Africa.