Assessing climate change effects on fodder species: implications for goat production in Northern Ghana

In low- and middle-income countries, agriculture is the major source of livelihood mainly through the simultaneous production of crops and rearing of animals. The main objective of the study was to investigate the implications of climate change and variability on fodder production and its implication on goat production in the Upper West Region. For livestock production, the major problem that continues to build up is the -year-round constraint of feed for livestock. As biodiversity continues to be threatened, there has been a paradigm inclusion from grass-based and crop residue-based feeds to tree-based feeds. Access to the tree-based feeds for livestock keepers especially livestock traders is associated with costs, bringing income to rural youth and women. The study used participatory approaches mainly Focus Group Discussions on separate groups of women and men in four districts of the guinea savanna agro-climatic zone of the Upper West Region to solicit in-depth information on fodder production and trade and climate change adaptation of goat production. The study revealed that different tree-based fodder species are being produced and traded in the study districts to improve goat production. Long time investment in the propagation of the tree-based fodder species is being recommended for two main reasons, first it takes many years to grow, and secondly, they are being competed for, for fuelwood.