An Environmental Advocate Ayamga Bawa Fatawu has said that more needs to be done to address the ever growing concerns of climate change and its adverse effects on agriculture; particularly in the Northern half of the country.
He made these comments when he spoke to A1radio on the back of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26. The COP26 is the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference. It is being held in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, between 31 October and 12 November 2021
Mr. Fatawu explained that climate change is the long-term alteration of temperature and typical weather patterns in a place. He blamed these current changes largely on human activities, like burning of fossil fuels like natural gas, oil, and coal. He said “the primary cause of climate change is the burning of fossil fuels, such as oil and coal, which emits greenhouse gases into the atmosphere; primarily carbon dioxide. Other human activities, such as agriculture and deforestation, also contribute to the proliferation of greenhouse gases that in turn cause climate change”.
Mr. Fatawu expressed concern about the negative ramifications of Climate Change. He mentioned “increase in floods which cause crop damaging, water pollution, soil erosion” as one of the major effect of climate change. The others, he said are, “increase in drought levels and the degradation of soils.
The Environmental Advocate who is resident in the Sissala East Municipality said the district is faced directly with the effects of Climate Change. He observed that “strange diseases attack neem trees in the area and hence leaving them leafless. Also, bad yields for crops especially groundnuts, maize, bambara beans, cowpea and soya beans. Unwanted weeds have over taken crops and thus competing with them for nutrients and space despite the use of several agro chemicals applications to stop them”.
Mr. Fatawu called on government to create policies that sustain and protect the climate.
A1Radioonline.com|101.1MHz| Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
