Leveraging technology for climate smart solutions in Shea Parklands

Integrating weather-sensing technologies for improved land management

Project Partners: FLYSIOS and Newcastle University

Across the Northern and Savanna regions of Ghana, shea trees remain an integral part of parkland agroforestry systems and support the livelihoods of many rural households. These parklands provide food and income for numerous rural households, particularly women cooperatives and communities involved in the picking and processing of shea nuts. There are an estimated 4 million hectares of shea parklands in Ghana with approximately 470,000 women working directly in the shea industry.

Shea parklands serve as important sources of carbon storage and contribute to making savannah ecosystems more resilient. An estimated 1.5 million tons of carbon is sequestered annually by these parklands. However, shea parklands are facing renewed threats exacerbated by climate change. Prolonged droughts have increased the incidence and impacts of bushfires, while fluctuations in rainfall have disrupted the natural cycles of shea trees. There is an urgent need for interventions that provide accurate, real-time weather information for the effective management of these parklands.

Exploring collaborations and market opportunities

The goal of this project is to explore market opportunities for integrating weather-sensing technologies into the management of shea parklands. The sensors measure rainfall, temperature, humidity, soil temperature, etc., and provide real-time monitoring and customised weather alerts, serving as a critical early warning mechanism. This technology has been developed by their technology partner and successfully implemented in Brazil.

With the support of the travel grant, they will explore and build new collaborations between government agencies, shea producer cooperatives, research agencies in Ghana and their technology partner in Brazil to accelerate the testing and development of approaches to integrating weather sensing technologies in the sustainable management of shea parklands in Ghana. Planned activities include workshops, key stakeholder meetings and field demonstrations.

For more information

For more information on this project, contact us, or view all projects funded under the Climate-Smart Agriculture Partnership programme.

Innovate UK Climate-Smart Agriculture Partnership: UK-Brazil-Africa brings together innovative people and organisations to promote climate-smart agriculture in Africa.