Accra: A scientist has recommended to farmers to blend indigenous farming knowledge with modern science to enable them to adapt to changing weather patterns.
According to Ghana News Agency, Madam Barbra Baidoo, a Research Fellow at the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA), explained that some proven existing indigenous knowledge is failing, hence the need to embrace modern science to ensure productivity. Farmers, over time, have relied on indicators like the sun, moon, and stars to predict weather changes, but these signs have increasingly led to inaccurate predictions.
The scientist emphasized that utilizing modern meteorological information can help smallholder farmers in rural areas build adaptive capacity and resilience against the irregular rainfall patterns caused by climate change. Madam Baidoo's recommendations were made at an event organized by UNU-INRA and WASCAL in Accra, aimed at sharing findings of the Landsurf Project and training national stakeholders on a newly developed decision support system.
The three-year Landsurf Project, supported by the German Federal Ministry of High Education and Research, aimed to create a high-resolution regional earth system model for West Africa (WESM), along with an interactive Decision Support System (DSS) for agriculture, food production, and land management. Baidoo suggested farmers should seek a second opinion from meteorological agencies to enhance their decision-making.
She also urged the scientific community to document and enhance indigenous knowledge to contribute to productivity and enhance climate resistance. She highlighted the importance of supporting smallholder farmers, who have historically sustained communities, by integrating and refining their indigenous knowledge.
Dr. Ferdinand Tornyie, another Research Fellow at UNU-INRA, noted that a key component of the Landsurf project was the creation of a web portal serving as an interactive DSS. This tool is designed to assist in agricultural decision-making by providing real-time information to aid in planning for cropping, rainfall, and flood incidents.
