Interfacing scientific and indigenous knowledge and practices for smallholder agriculture in north-western Ghana.

The implications of climate change are dire for household food security and poverty reduction in rural northern Ghana, where agriculture is mainly rain-fed. This paper explores how smallholder farmers interface indigenous and scientific practices for crop farming in northern Ghana. This is necessary because much attention of research has mostly focused on how farmers adapt to climate change through indigenous knowledge with little focus on how they interface scientific and indigenous knowledge and practices for crop farming. The study adopted mixed method research approach, drawing on both quantitative and qualitative data. A household survey was conducted with 305 household heads using a questionnaire to generate quantitative data. Qualitative data were also generated through in-depth interviews with 29 participants, 18 focus group discussions and field observations. The results showed that smallholder farmers were interfacing farm topographies and distances for sustainable farming; combining use of indigenous and scientific sources of weather and agricultural information and combining use of indigenous and improved crop varieties to diversify crop cultivation. The paper concludes that there is good interface of indigenous and scientific practices in crop farming in northern Ghana. It advocates for participatory approach to effectively interface indigenous and science-based practices to achieve climate-resilient agriculture and food security in Ghana. The paper contributes to the understanding of interfacing indigenous and scientific practices and the need to strengthen efforts at integrating local modern practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]