Climate-Smart Agriculture Practices in Ghana: Adoption, Challenges, and Opportunities

Abstract

Background & Aim: Climate change poses an existential threat to Ghana's agricultural sector, which employs approximately 45% of the labour force and contributes 18.3% of GDP. Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) — encompassing practices that simultaneously enhance productivity, build adaptive capacity, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions — has been promoted as a transformative solution. Yet adoption rates remain uneven, policy implementation is fragmented, and the contribution of rural waste management to CSA has been largely overlooked in the literature. This systematic narrative review synthesises evidence from 2010 to 2025 to assess Climate-Smart Agriculture Practices in Ghana. Methodology: This study employs a systematic narrative review design following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Database searches were conducted in Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar using Boolean search strings combining terms. Data were extracted using a structured template capturing: author(s), year, study design, sample size, agro-ecological zone, CSA practices studied, adoption metrics, barriers identified, and policy instruments referenced. A thematic coding protocol organised findings under seven themes aligned with the article's section structure. Quantitative findings (adoption rates, effect sizes, willingness-to-pay values) were tabulated. Inter-coder reliability was assessed on a random 20% subsample (Cohen's κ = 0.81, indicating strong agreement). Results: CSA adoption patterns, identify adoption determinants, evaluate the waste-agriculture interface, and appraise Ghana's policy landscape. Drawing on 35 peer-reviewed studies, institutional reports, and national policy documents, the review finds that (i) labour- and land-intensive CSA practices are broadly adopted (~80% and ~73% of sampled farmers, respectively), while finance-intensive practices lag (~55%), with a 15-percentage-point gender gap disadvantaging women; (ii) extension services multiply adoption probability 2.8-fold and secure land tenure increases long-term CSA investment by 60%; (iii) Ghana generates approximately 13,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste daily, of which 61% is organic and largely untapped as compost feedstock; (iv) microplastic contamination (1,100–2,700 particles kg⁻¹ of organic amendments) constitutes an emerging 'compost quality paradox'; and (v) critical policy coherence gaps persist between agricultural and waste governance instruments. Conclusion: The review concludes with a six-point research agenda and recommends the creation of an integrated Waste-Agriculture Nexus policy mechanism to bridge institutional silos and unlock Ghana's organic waste potential for sustainable food systems.