Purpose: This paper aims to investigate farmers’ vulnerability to climate change and variability in the northern region of Ghana.Design/methodology/approach: The study assessed the vulnerability of male-headed and female-headed farming households to climate change and variability by using the livelihood vulnerability index (LVI) and tested for significant difference in their vulnerability levels by applying independent two-sample-student’st-test based on gender by using a sample of 210 smallholder farming households.Findings: The results revealed a significant difference in the vulnerability levels of female-headed and male-headed farming households. Female–headed households were more vulnerable to livelihood strategies, socio-demographic profile, social networks, water and food major components of the LVI, whereas male-headed households were more vulnerable to health. The vulnerability indices revealed that female–headed households were more sensitive to the impact of climate change and variability. However, female-headed households have the least adaptive capacities. In all, female-headed farming households are more vulnerable to climate change and variability than male-headed farming households.Research limitations/implications: The study recommends that female-headed households should be given priority in both on-going and new intervention projects in climate change and agriculture by empowering them through financial resource support to venture into other income-generating activities. This would enable them to diversify their sources of livelihoods to boost their resilience to climate change and variability.Originality/value: This is the first study that examined the gender dimension of vulnerability of smallholder farmers in Ghana by using the livelihood vulnerability framework. Female subordination in northern region of Ghana has been profound to warrant a study on gender dimension in relation to climate change and variability, especially as it is a semi-arid region with unpredictable climatic conditions. This research revealed the comparative vulnerability of male- and female-headed households to climate change and variability.

This study examined the adaptation strategies of maize farmers to climate change and variability in the Eastern Region of Ghana using primary data collected from 150 maize farming households by the administration of structured questionnaires. The results of the multinomial logit regression revealed that rainfall perception, access to credit, and farming experience significantly influenced the adoption of recommended agricultural practices, whereas the adoption of soil-related strategies is influenced by gender and rainfall perception. Farming experience and rainfall perception influenced the adoption of improved varieties strategies. This study highlights the need for the development of water resources for maize production in the context of the changing climate. In this respect, the crucial roles of the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority, the agricultural extension division of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, and other international organizations such as the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the World Bank regarding the development of irrigation facilities and the associated capacity building of the farmers are very important. Finally, the formation of Water User Associations for the smallholder farmers regarding the usage and maintenance of the irrigation facilities would be a step in the right direction.

There has been growing interest in the evaluation of research projects in Africa because of the quantum of funding devoted to research by governmental and non-governmental organizations. One area that has received a lot of research funding is farmer-herder conflicts due to its high impact on peace, security and development on the continent. This paper evaluates a Danida-funded research project in the Ashanti Region of Ghana dubbed “Access-Authority Nexus in Farmer-Herder Conflicts (AAN Project)”. Primary data was collected from 46 project stakeholders during a project review meeting. Each stakeholder responded to a questionnaire distributed to them and later explained for them to have a common understanding of it before providing responses. The OECD DAC Network on Project Development Assessment Framework was adapted to evaluate the project success. Stakeholders’ perceived project success was evaluated using Perception Index while project success criteria were assessed using correlation analysis. The results show that stakeholders perceived the AAN project to be effective in achieving its objectives of investigating the formation and erosion of access associated with the conflicts, capacity building and information dissemination to stakeholders. They also perceived it to be relevant to farmer-herder peaceful co-existence, and coherent with other existing interventions in the conflict area. The results further show that stakeholders recognized the project to have impacted positively on the number of conflict cases and their effects on livelihoods and state building Overall, they rated the project’s achievements as sustainable. The implication of the findings is that research is still necessary for the effective management of the farmer-herder conflicts despite the numerous research work already done on it.