Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) – Ghana program
The Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) program seeks to make proven CGIAR climate‑smart agriculture (CSA) innovations and climate information services (CIS) accessible to millions of African smallholder farmers. AICCRA leverages 50+ years of CGIAR innovation to scale CSA practices and CIS; it works with national and regional partners to provide smallholders with enhanced climate information and validated technologies so they can anticipate weather events, adopt resilient practices and safeguard livelihoods.
IITA leads the Ghana cluster of AICCRA. The Ghana program addresses vulnerabilities in a rain‑fed, smallholder‑dominated agricultural sector that is exposed to erratic rainfall, prolonged dry spells and rising temperatures. Structural bottlenecks—weak extension systems, fragmented climate governance, poor data sharing and socio‑economic barriers that disproportionately affect women and low‑literacy farmers —limit the uptake of climate‑smart innovations. The Ghana cluster enhances institutional capacity, coordinates pathways to scale CSA and CIS innovations, and aligns interventions with national climate policy frameworks. It also integrates gender and social inclusion to ensure women farmers gain equitable access to climate‑smart technologies.
Expected results
AICCRA‑Ghana works through a blend of demonstration parks, radio broadcasts, digital platforms and public–private partnerships to scale CSA and CIS innovations. Expected results include:
- Scaling CSA innovations through technology parks – working with the Crops Research Institute (CRI‑CSIR) and Ghana’s Department of Agriculture, AICCRA‑Ghana has established 31 technology parks for maize, cowpea, sweet potato, tomato and yam. Farmer field days at these parks have exposed over 2,400 farmers in 20 communities across six regions to improved crop varieties and One‑Health practices.
- Training and capacity building – more than 45,000 farmers (59.2 % women) have received face‑to‑face training on CSA and CIS practices. The program has also trained 219 extension agents and lead farmers and 68 journalists to support climate‑smart decision‑making on land preparation, seed selection, soil treatment, planting and harvesting.
- Mass communication and digital advisories – a 20‑episode radio programme produced with Farm Radio International and eight community radio stations reached more than 245,000 farmers (39 % women). Through the digital platform managed with Esoko, seasonal forecasts, pest and disease advisories and early‑warning announcements have been disseminated to over 100,000 farmers via text and voice messages.
- Decision‑support and data systems – in partnership with the Plant Protection Services Directorate (PPRSD) of Ghana’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture, AICCRA is operationalising a national Early Warning & Rapid Response System for Pests and Diseases (EWRRSPD) . The program is also co‑developing the Ag‑Innovation Data Hub (AIDH‑Ghana) with CSIR‑INSTI to provide a demand‑driven digital platform for data sharing and decision support.
- Scaling One Health and CSA innovations – the program works with the Biotechnology and Nuclear Agricultural Research Institute (GAEC), the Crops Research Institute, CABI and PPRSD to scale biopesticides (e.g., neem leaf extract), aeroponics‑generated seed yam and disease‑free sweet potato vines. These innovations aim to control pests, viral infestations and disease pressure while improving yields.
- Mainstreaming gender and social inclusion – AICCRA‑Ghana prioritises climate information and innovations for women’s crops such as cowpea, vegetables and groundnuts . Working with the Women in Agriculture Development (WIAD) directorate and village savings and loans associations, the program builds women’s climate resilience and ensures women farmers comprise roughly half of all participants.
- Institutional strengthening and collaboration – the Ghana cluster has strengthened inter‑institutional collaboration through district and community CSA hubs, regular content validation routines and co‑production processes. Investments in interactive voice response (IVR), SMS and USSD systems and the AgData Hub improve real‑time dissemination and analytics‑based decision‑making.
- Enhanced adoption and resilience – AICCRA’s blended scaling model (radio programmes, interactive phone‑ins, IVR in local languages, community information centres, demonstration plots and lead‑farmer networks) has improved farmers’ access to timely, contextualised CSA and CIS advisories . Farmers report greater trust in advisories, improved understanding of forecast implications and increased early adoption of climate‑smart practices such as timely planting, fertiliser scheduling and integrated pest management.
Significance
AICCRA‑Ghana demonstrates how coordinated, multi‑actor systems combined with inclusive dissemination pathways can strengthen climate resilience at scale. By 2025 the program aims to have provided climate‑smart advisories and technologies to hundreds of thousands of farmers across Ghana, with an emphasis on women and marginalised communities. Sustained institutional commitments, improved data sharing and long‑term financing are essential to ensure the continuity and scaling of these innovations.
Project leader: Ghislain Tepa‑Yotto
Start date: February 1, 2021
End date: December 31, 2025
Partners:
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Crops Research Institute (CRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
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Ghana Meteorological Agency
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University of Development Studies
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Biotechnology and Nuclear Agricultural Research Institute of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission
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Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD) of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture
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Esoko
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Farm Radio International
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Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) and Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO)
Location: Ghana
Team members:
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Mustapha Alasan Dalaa – National Partner Coordinator: leads multi‑partner convenings and supports co‑design of CSA and CIS bundles using best‑bet scaling approaches; he also serves as Environmental and Social Safeguards focal person for the Ghana cluster .
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Faustina Obeng Adomaa – Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Expert (IITA) – ensures gender‑responsive delivery and mainstreaming of social inclusion.