Bishop Akolgo, Executive Director of Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC), has warned that the effects of climate change would seriously affect food production in the country, if swift measures are not taken to marshal plans to overcome any eventualities in the near future.

The Executive Director made this observation in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Bolgatanga, after a workshop organized by his outfit on how to develop a “Geo-reference Database” in one of the districts in the three Northern Regions for assessing hazards and monitoring their vulnerability levels.

Bishop Akolgo said crops including maize and cocoa would be seriously affected as a result of the climate change since they would not be resilient to the weather.

He suggested the need for scientists to come out with innovative means to develop new crops that would be resilient to the weather and mentioned that cocoa, which was a major foreign earning crop for the country, could also be affected.

Bishop Akolgo asked farmers in the northern parts of the country to concentrate on farming millet and guinea corn, which was more resilient to the climate change.

He expressed his worry about the carbon emissions from industries, set up by foreigners in the country, and called for a new technology and acceptable global practice to address them.

He stressed the need for effective implementation of laws relating to the environment, citing neighbouring Burkina-Faso, where people who degrade the environment are prosecuted, which he said has helped the preservation of the environment in that country.

He deplored the situation where forest reserves were being depleted for charcoal and said it was necessary that the assemblies, and forest reserve related agencies in the country enforce their deforestation laws to stem the tide, adding that, the failure to re-plant trees has led to desertification in some parts of the country.

Bishop Akolgo stressed the need for innovative measures to be put in place for every household to harvest and conserve rain water for use in the dry season especially in the three Northern Regions.

Source: GNA