Climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events, including droughts and flooding, creating challenges for agricultural production and water security across sub-Saharan Africa.
It is for this reason that the project dubbed “Geophysics for Climate-smart Agriculture in Africa” is using geophysics to understand soil, water and climate resilience in Ghana.
The two-year project, starting from April 2026 to March 2028, is a partnership between the CSIR-Crops Research Institute, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), British Geological Survey (BGS), UK, University of Nottingham and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).
It is funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).
The project focuses on developing and deploying low-cost electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) soil sensing instrumentation to monitor climate-resilient agricultural experiments, such as cover-cropping, tillage variations, and residue management in Ghana.
The objective is to evaluate soil water dynamics, enhance groundwater recharge, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions like nitrous oxide.
The knowledge generated is intended to support development of climate-resilient and resource-efficient farming systems.
Dr Stephen Yeboah, the Project Co-lead and a Research Scientist at CSIR-CRI, speaking at the stakeholder consultative workshop on the Project at Fumesua, near Kumasi, explaining further, said the ERT researchers were deploying into the soil at the sub-surface level, would give information to make recommendation with regards to building the resilience of farmers against climate change.
“On the field, researchers are deploying sensors which are able to monitor soil moisture dynamics and this helps us to make decisions with regards to which of the residues from the cover crops improve soil physical dynamics in relation to the yield of the crop.
The aim is to make a recommendation with regards to how farmers can manage their residue after harvest to improve the soil for sustainable yield production,” he emphasised.
Dr Yeboah indicated that, once researchers were able to establish the sustainability of the system, they would scale out, organise demonstration fields, train, build capacities of farmers for adoption and impacts.
Although the research is ongoing, researchers are deploying a participatory approach with stakeholders from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, policymakers, civil society organisations and other research institutions to make dissemination and adoption easier after the studies.
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Dr Russel Swift, a Geophysicist at the British Geological Survey, said strengthening capacities was a major component of the project.
He believed early career researchers would gain experience in geophysics, soil physics, experimental co-design, instrument development, data processing, and data management analysis, among others.
From expensive equipment to local capability, researchers at KNUST will develop low-cost, open-source geophysical instruments, creating local capacity to build, deploy, repair and improve equipment for future research.
