Why Investing in Climate-Smart Crop Management Is a Pragmatic Recovery Plan For Rural Communities In Ghana

This What-If simulation estimates the impact of investing in climate-smart crop management interventions in a rural community in Ghana. Costs and benefits, including externalities, are estimated for two financing scenarios: one that includes the provision of sustainable recovery support by the Green Climate Fund and one that does not.

This What-If simulation estimates the costs and benefits of investing in climate-smart crop management interventions in a rural community in Ghana. It also estimates the additional benefits generated by the provision of sustainable recovery support by the Green Climate Fund to bring down interest rates on loans to cover upfront investments. The simulation estimates the impact of investing in the following five climate-smart crop management interventions implemented over 2,023 hectares of agricultural land:

  • Crop management, including rotation
  • Mixed cropping
  • Improved nutrient management
  • Improved genetic resources
  • Minimum tillage.

The simulation consists of the following components:

  1. A comparison of two investment scenarios: (a) with and (b) without sustainable recovery financing made available by the Green Climate Fund. Analyzing the various interventions separately helped to determine which would require the most sustainable recovery support.
  2. A valuation of externalities (co-benefits), comparing a baseline scenario with the scenario of investing in climate-smart crop management interventions.

Read the full report for detailed simulation results.