An international gathering of agricultural stakeholders has concluded in Accra, establishing fresh nature-based targets to protect West African farming systems against growing climate threats.
Held from July 1 to 3, 2026, the capital city hosted the Agroecological Strategies for Resilient Farming in West Africa (CIRAWA) Conference, which brought together policy leaders, scientific researchers, and development partners from Ghana, Cape Verde, Senegal, The Gambia, and Europe to design pathways for sustainable food production.
The three-day event was opened by Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, who emphasised that the convention arrived at a critical time to drive resilience across the continent.
The Vice President revealed that Ghana is currently executing a four-year agricultural transformation programme via the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to actively promote agroecological techniques.
The state scheme supports practical field methods, including crop diversification, agroforestry, improved soil health, localised biofertiliser production, farmer-led irrigation projects, and the breeding of high-yielding seed varieties.
She called for the urgent creation of a national agroecology strategy alongside deep training for extension personnel, advising that the region must move away from ineffective farming practices.
The conference targeted structural vulnerabilities in the sub-region, where smallholder subsistence producers are heavily exposed to shifting temperatures, prolonged droughts, and global fertiliser supply shocks.
To build true agricultural autonomy, the EU-funded CIRAWA project focuses on scaling up circular economy models, such as using local compost and biogas innovations.
The Ghana Coordinator of CIRAWA and agricultural development economist at the University for Development Studies (UDS), Professor Saa Dittoh, stated that the sessions mapped out real paths for scaling these techniques across national agendas.
This focus matches the vision shared by the overall CIRAWA Project Coordinator, Mr Raúl Sánchez of CARTIF, who highlighted that the opening sessions combined deep scientific research with practical, indigenous solutions.
The institutional alliance was hailed by international observers as a vital meeting of policy and science. Mr Edmond Moukala, the Head of UNESCO’s office in Accra, described the conference as a historic junction where policy, science, and ancestral wisdom converge to feed populations while actively restoring the planet.
Additionally, Dr Jacques Somda, the Country Director for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Burkina Faso, noted that existing local knowledge must serve as the foundation for stronger food supply lines, ensuring West African smallholders can maintain stable harvests independently of erratic global market trends.
Source: Access Agric
