By Jennifer Ambolley

Summary:

• Climate change is pushing farmers with disabilities to the brink: In Ghana’s Upper East, erratic rains and rising heat are devastating farms. For farmers like Asoke Douglas Aganawini, who has partial vision, the impact means empty fields—and empty plates.
• Farming aid often excludes the disabled: Farmers with disabilities say they are left out of climate adaptation efforts—from dam construction to tool distribution.
• Experts demand inclusive action now: Advocates are urging the government to integrate disability into all farming and climate policies. “Inclusion isn’t a luxury—it’s survival,” says Dr. Alexander Nti Kani. Without it, Ghana risks deepening inequality in the face of crisis.

By Jennifer Ambolley

BALUNGO, Upper East Region –Asoke Douglas Aganawini rises with the sun each day in this remote community in the far northern part of the country. Climate change has pummeled farmers here with unpredictable rainfall and higher temperatures. But for Asoke it’s been particularly hard.

The 45-year-old began losing his eyesight at age 11 after what he says was a bout of conjunctivitis, known in Ghana as “Apollo” His parents could not pay for surgery recommended by an eye clinic. Instead he used home remedies until 18 when he lost all vision.

Douglas had few options besides growing food. And despite the challenges he has been able to manage a quit     e remarkable feat:      Providing for himself and six extended family members (he has no wife or children of his own). That was until global warming changed everything. 

“We don’t get enough to eat,” he says. “Feeding our families becomes a struggle, and when food is available in the market, it’s too expensive.”

In this northern tip of Ghana’s Upper East Region, once-predictable seasons have been disrupted. The rains arrive late and leave early. Temperatures have soared, parching the soil and baking crops. For Douglas and many like him, the dry season now stretches into what should be the start of planting season. The cracked earth of his unplowed field is a metaphor for his struggles.

But for Douglas, the weather is only one part of the hardship. He is forced to pay others to weed and sow. He feels the soil to know if it’s dry. “I can tell the maize is dry and ready when the husks rustle in the wind a certain way,” he says.

But as a person living with a disability, Douglas says he finds himself excluded from both local farming support and long-term climate change adaptation efforts.

When communities or government agencies plan agricultural interventions like digging dams or distributing farm tools, Douglas says, people like him are rarely considered. 

“No one asks us what we need,” he says. “And the tools they give? They’re the same outdated ones we’ve used for decades. Nothing is adapted for someone with a visual impairment.”

There is no precise national figure detailing the number of farmers with disabilities in Ghana. According to the Ghana Statistical Service, data from the 2021 Population and Housing Census indicates that approximately 8% of Ghana’s population—about 2.1 million people—live with some form of disability. Two in every five Ghanaians are engaged in agriculture for their living, inferring that a substantial number of people with disabilities are farming.

“Disability is a lived reality for over 1.3 billion people globally,” says Dr Alexander Nti Kani, an expert in Environment and Climate Economics at Centre for Climate Change and Food Security. “Yet, in Ghana’s agriculture and climate policies, persons with disabilities remain invisible.”

Farmers with disabilities face a range of obstacles

Farmers with disabilities can face steep barriers, from the inability to access irrigation systems to limited financial aid. Many farmers with disabilities cannot access loans according to Sabrina Mahmudu, vice president of the Ghana Federation of Disability Organizations.

“Most financial institutions think that persons with disabilities are not capable of repaying loans,” she says. “This makes it almost impossible for them to buy irrigation equipment or farm tools.”

Government interventions meant to cushion farmers during climate-related disasters often fail to reach those with disabilities. Mahmudu says they are sometimes forgotten or left out of communications. “I can’t pinpoint even one of our members who received financial help due to the drought,” says Mahmudu. “We were left out.”

The impact can be existential. During disasters like floods, “everybody is running to save their life but persons with disabilities are often forgotten,” Mahmudu says. “If there’s no one to help them escape, they may lose their lives or their disability may worsen.”

The absence of government data that segregates out farmers with disabilities has made it difficult for aid agencies even to locate impacted people.

“We’ve been lobbying ministries and agencies like National Disaster Management Organization, a Ghanaian government agency responsible for managing disasters and emergencies, and the Ghana Meteorological Agency to include persons with disabilities in disaster response plans,” she says. “But so far, it’s more talk than action.”

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture is working to do more to assist farmers with disabilities according to Tanko Bagbara, head of public relations.

He says policies exist to support farmers through input distribution, national awards, and social inclusion programs. But, he says, actual implementation lies with local authorities.

“At the district level, there are always components to cater for people with disabilities,” Bagbara says. “From the ministry level, we also have the social reports component. Last year, inputs were distributed to persons with disabilities and other marginalized groups like widows to help them farm.”

He says the Ministry created the National Best Disabled Farmer award to motivate persons with disabilities to pursue farming as a viable livelihood. Bagbara rejected complaints during last year’s drought that some farmers with disabilities reported being excluded from recovery efforts.

“If the farmer was registered, they should have received support,” he said.

Farmers with disabilities show great resilience

Abu Salia is another farmer here living with a disability. The 53-year-old polio survivor lost the use of a leg when he was struck down with the disease at age 2. Salia now farms with one leg and an iron will. On his two acres of land gifted to him by the church and the community’s queen mother, he grows maize, cabbage, okra, spring onion, garden eggs, and now, cucumber.

“I don’t stick to one crop. Prices change, so I rotate. That way, if one doesn’t do well, the others might,” he says.

Without access to irrigation, water is a major challenge, particularly now that rains come late and end early. Salia is forced to haul water from a nearby river to his crops, hopping it back with one bucket.

“You can’t water an acre with a bucket. Maybe just a small garden. I do it because I have no choice.” Farmers without disabilities in his community have access to pumps and power tillers. “The man next to me carries two buckets at once. He harvests before me. I try my best, but I can’t keep up.”

Drought or dry spells occur frequently in the dry savannah of northern Ghana. But in recent years they have become more frequent. The region expects rain between June to September, but it has been coming later. Last year, it was two months late, putting more than 400,000 farmers at risk of crop failure according to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Major crops including maize, rice, groundnut soyabean, sorghum, millet and yam were impacted causing a potential revenue loss of GH¢10.4 billion.

The impacts go beyond farmers. Ghana’s north produces nearly two thirds of the country’s annual grain production meaning Ghanians are seeing prices rise and supplies run short.

But for farmers like Salia climate change is presenting a crisis now.

“Farming is all I have,” Salia says.“If I can get a water pump, I can farm in the dry season when prices are good. That’s when vegetables like cabbage bring money. Now, I depend too much on the rain.

“My dream is simple,” he says. “I just want to farm like everyone else.”

Disability advocates push for solutions

As climate change hits farmers with disabilities hard some are mobilizing to build resilience.

“In some communities, assembly members are beginning to understand and include our people in stakeholder discussions,” says Sabrina Mahmudu of the Ghana Federation of Disability Organizations.“We’ve seen small wins like being invited to climate adaptation forums and participating in agricultural planning sessions.”

Some members are creating their own watering systems using modified cans or ropes and pulleys to irrigate small gardens during the dry season.

“It’s not ideal, but it shows innovation and determination,” Mahmudu says.

Dr Kani advocates for practical, low-cost solutions that will make farming easier for people with disabilities, like raised-bed and so-called keyhole gardening – an above ground garden with a composter in the center. Solar-powered drip irrigation, already tested in Malawi and Burkina Faso, could also offer lifelines in water-scarce areas.

He also points to accessible mobile apps delivering weather alerts and planting advice that can empower farmers with disabilities. At the national level Dr Kani wants the      government to collect clear data that reflects different disabilities. And include budget lines that provide tools specifically for farmers with disabilities.

“Inclusion must be built into extension services, procurement policies, and national plans like “Planting for Food and Jobs”, Dr Kani says.

He recommends training extension officers in disability inclusion, decentralising outreach to remote areas, and recruiting peer mentors from local disability groups.

“Inclusion isn’t a luxury. It’s the foundation of resilience,” Dr Kani concluded. “If we truly aim to achieve climate justice, then all farmers, especially those with disabilities, must be seen, heard, and supported.”

But despite these challenges, Sabrina says her organization and local disability rights groups are not giving up. “We are trying to engage the systems. We are writing proposals, joining stakeholder meetings, and speaking up at local assemblies. This is our way of being resilient. If we don’t speak, no one will speak for us.”

Still, she believes a major national mindset shift is needed. “People look at disability as something far away as if it will never happen to them. That’s why we’re always the last group considered. That has to change.”

One of the biggest challenges farmers with disabilities face is simple stigma. That is shared by people living with disabilities across the country. Mahmudu says only by combatting stigma for all Ghanaians will the country ensure lasting change.

“People don’t see disability as an integral part of society. We are always an afterthought. Until there is an attitude change toward persons with disability where people see us as equal citizens deserving of inclusion no amount of policy will work.”

This story was a collaboration with New Narratives. Funding was provided by
climateXchange. The funder had no say in the story’s content.