There has been no rain in northern Ghana for more than two months and the persistent drought is drying up the crops in the fields. Farmers now have little hope of a successful harvest and are expecting huge losses, especially in the staple crops of rice, maize, peanuts and millet.
Food production has already fallen significantly, causing alarm bells to ring. There is a threat of food shortages and possibly famine. Affected farmers have expressed fears that even if the rains start now, it could be too late to reverse the damage caused by the drought. Normally, they would have started harvesting long ago. In addition, planting for the next season is supposed to have already started, but this is not possible at the moment.
Alhaji Mohammed, honoured as National Best Farmer in 2021, sees no improvement. His 3,000 hectares should have been cultivated long ago, but he is still waiting for rain. Like many of his colleagues, he puts the current situation down to climate change.
