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Greenhouse gas emissions in West Africa are expected to be accelerated by growing population, intensive agriculture and other aggressive land use changes.
Thus
according to a new study, “Greenhouse Gas Determination in West Africa
Agricultural Landscapes” (GreenGaDe) project, which shows the effects of
increased emissions will contribute to heat-related health illnesses, influence
climate change and impact on food production.
The
project is embedded in the trans-disciplinary West African Science Service
Centre on Climate Change and Adapted land Use (WASCAL) and funded by the German
Federal Minister of Education and Research (BMBF).
The
study, conducted by scientists from Germany, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Niger,
focused on the emission of primary greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, methane
and nitrous oxide that contribute to global warming.
These
gases absorb long-wave radiation hindering the heat from escaping into
outer space, ultimately causing global warming and climate change. The effects
of this phenomenon have become pronounced with population growth and
agricultural expansion.
The
researchers sought to inform climate adaptation policies and promote
climate-smart agriculture among smallholder farmers, who are being admonished
to set up tree canopies to preserve carbon pools in soil and vegetation.
“Forests
in agricultural ecological systems are important. They facilitate carbon
storage, mitigating the impact of climate change, and the like. In the future
climate change will be more severe and I would encourage farmers to look into
the future and improve their carbon field by developing more tree canopies,”
said Prof. Anja Linstaedter, Consortium Principal Investigators of the
GreenGaDe Project.
Food
production systems are responsible for 19-29% of global greenhouse gas
emissions. In developing countries, 90% of the emissions originate from
agriculture and deforestation. But it is not known how much greenhouse gasses
are released by different agricultural systems and management practices.
The
GreenGaDe project has the goal of providing policymakers and managers with data
and predictions to serve as a clear basis for decision-making.
The
study aims to quantify carbon pool dynamics and GHG emitted under different
land use practices, and to improve stakeholders' understanding of GHG dynamics
in the West African region.
A
stakeholders’ workshop in West Africa’s agricultural landscapes explored
stronger collaborations to improve agriculture and climate related issues.
“Nitrous
oxide emissions occur mostly through agricultural activities associated with
increased use of synthetic fertilizers, deposition of animal excreta (urine and
dung), disproportionate application of manure to farmlands, and inefficient use
of irrigation water,” said Dr. Reginald Guuroh, principal investigator for the
Ghana project team.
“One
aspect is the engagement of farmers, testing their practices and their
knowledge. And farmers have been educated and waiting on the adoption of
climate-smart adoptions. And our partners have been very helpful in finding
results,” he said.
Specialists
from agronomy, forestry, modelling, environmental chemistry and monitoring and
sociology from Germany and three West African countries worked on the project,
examining and comparing different agro-ecosystems in West Africa, including
forests, open savannahs, pastures and fields.
By Kofi
Adu Domfeh
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