HOUSEHOLDS’ STRATEGIES OF ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND CHANGE; EXPERIENCES FROM THE ASANTE-AKIM SOUTH DISTRICT, GHANA

Of current concerns are the significant impacts of human influence on climate variability and change. Even though societies have been adapting to climate variability and change, evidence seem to suggest that in rural Ghana, adaptation capacity is quite low. The level of adaptation to climate change as identified in the Asante Akim South District is a function of individual household’s empowered capacity to obviate the direct impacts of climate variability and change. A survey of 120 heads of households simple randomly-sampled, were targeted with structured questionnaires and interview guides from three communities in the Asante-Akim South in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The study revealed inter alia, that livelihoods are invariably tied to subsistent agriculture. These impacts are expressed in terms of low crop yields, low income and households’ savings from agriculture, environmental resources depletion. Farmers, as matters of urgency, adopted some coping methods and eventually adaptive strategies to sustain their livelihoods. Livelihood strategies should incorporate climate variability management measures; in view of the fact that livelihood support resources are prone to changing climatic consequences.