Dr Enoch Kwame Tham-Agyekum

Ghana faces increasing climate risks—particularly droughts and extreme temperatures—severely impacting agricultural productivity and the livelihoods of its people. These risks stem from extreme weather events, inadequate adaptive capacity, and socio-economic vulnerabilities, which disrupt livelihoods and lead to unproductive farmlands. The northern part of Ghana is particularly vulnerable to extreme drought conditions. It is highly susceptible to the impacts of climate change, which significantly hinder effective adaptation and resilience strategies and affect agricultural productivity and livelihoods. The increasing temperatures and declining rainfall exacerbate the lives of smallholder farmers, such as those in Tham-Agyekum.

Climate hazards impact production and disrupt post-production activities, resulting in food insecurity. Farmers in this region face challenges adapting to these changing climatic conditions, including limited access to climate information, fragmented community structures, and inadequate adaptation strategies. The absence of efficient climate information services exacerbates the situation, as communities struggle to access relevant data for informed adaptation choices. There is an urgent need for effective strategies to build climate resilience. 

One promising tool to address this issue is community radio, which has the potential to promote social learning and cohesion among rural communities. Community radio can facilitate the dissemination of climate-related information, share local adaptation strategies, and foster collective action. However, despite the recognised potential of community radio in supporting climate resilience, there is limited empirical research on how these radio programs influence social learning and community cohesion in drought-prone areas of Northern Ghana. Local communities often lack timely and locally relevant climate information, weakening their adaptive capacity. Social learning, which involves the sharing of knowledge, participatory learning, and collective decision-making, has emerged as a vital approach to climate adaptation. When embedded in strong community ties, it enhances resilience through trust-building, shared experiences, and collaborative problem-solving.

Dr Enoch Kwame Tham-Agyekum's research project will investigate the role of community radio in fostering social learning and cohesion to enhance climate resilience, as well as facilitating adaptive strategies among smallholder farmers in northern Ghana. Community radio is vital for knowledge sharing and engagement, particularly in local contexts where mainstream media may overlook community-specific issues. Community radio empowers individuals and promotes social cohesion by fostering grassroots participation, making it an essential medium for regional development and cultural preservation. Community radio stations in Ghana address local needs by documenting local events, providing critical information during emergencies and providing targeted programming in education, health, and agriculture, thereby empowering local populations.

Community radio has regained trust in broadcasting by prioritising local voices and concerns, contrasting with mainstream media's commercial focus. The participatory nature of community radio fosters authenticity, as community members create content, ensuring relevance and engagement. It also catalyses social transformation, providing a platform for marginalised voices and promoting community dialogue. Dr Tham-Agyekum's study will adopt a mixed-methods approach to comprehensively understand how community radio promotes social learning and cohesion in drought-prone areas of northern Ghana. The qualitative component will explore the perspectives of key stakeholders, while the quantitative aspect will assess the extent of radio listenership and its influence on climate resilience. The research will be conducted in drought-prone regions of northern Ghana, specifically, the Northern Region, Upper West Region, Upper East Region, Northeast Region and Savannah Region. These areas are characterised by recurrent droughts, severely impacting agricultural productivity and community livelihoods. Community radio stations actively operate in these districts, making them ideal for studying the role of radio in fostering social learning and cohesion.

The target population will include farmers in drought-prone communities, as they are directly affected by climatic risks and rely on community radio for information. The community radio station managers who design and deliver radio programmes focused on climate change and resilience, as well as extension agents who act as intermediaries between farmers and information sources, including community radio, will be part of the target population. Based on the number of smallholder farmers in the target regions, a sample size of approximately 500 farmers will be chosen, ensuring representation from the five areas. A sample size of five radio station managers in each region will be included. Given the role of extension agents in rural development and agriculture in Northern Ghana, the study will target five extension agents in each of the five regions. Three primary methods of data collection will be used. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with community radio station managers and extension agents to explore their role in fostering social learning and cohesion. Structured questionnaires will be administered to farmers to gather quantitative data. Focus group discussions will be held with farmers to gain deeper insights into community-level learning and shared experiences facilitated by radio programmes.

The study aims to gain a deeper understanding of the role of community radio in mitigating climate risks in drought-prone areas of northern Ghana. It will provide insights into how community radio fosters social learning and cohesion among farmers and other stakeholders. It will identify effective strategies for leveraging community radio to build climate resilience and promote adaptive capacity. The findings will provide actionable recommendations for policymakers and agricultural extension programmes on integrating community radio into climate-resilient initiatives. Development practitioners can use the results to design community-based interventions that enhance social cohesion and collective problem-solving in drought-prone areas.

Dr Enoch Kwame Tham-Agyekum is a Lecturer at the Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension, KNUST, Ghana. He holds a PhD, an MPhil in Agricultural Extension, and a BSc in Agriculture. He also has an MDiv and an MA in International Development Studies, and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Communication Studies. His research interests span agricultural extension systems, rural development and development communication. In 2024, he served as a Visiting Researcher at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. He has published widely and supervises postgraduate research in agricultural extension and development. His multidisciplinary training and field engagement make him a valuable contributor to discussions on sustainable agriculture and inclusive growth in Ghana and beyond.