{
  "id": 18503601,
  "title": "MoFA drafting national El Niño plan with GMet to shield crop output",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/mofa-drafting-national-el-nino-plan-with-gmet-to-shield-crop-output",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-06T13:21:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "3News",
    "slug": "3news",
    "url": "https://3news.com/agribusiness/el-nino-mofa-response-plan"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) is collaborating with the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) to develop a national plan that will help mitigate the potential damage that a powerful El Niño event could cause to Ghanaian farms. Osei-Opoku Gyamfi, the Head of Public Affairs at MoFA, confirmed that the ministry is working with GMet and anticipates completing the plan in the coming days. The detailed measures will be revealed once the plan is finalized.\n\nThis plan builds upon a technical brief provided by GMet in October, which was then reviewed by the Governing Board on October 27. The primary objective of the plan is to safeguard crops and livestock during prolonged dry spells, a situation that the brief anticipated. It calls upon several other ministries, including those of agriculture, health, energy, water, local government, and finance, to work together to prepare comprehensive strategies.\n\nThe GMet brief outlines several actions that MoFA should take. These include making drought-tolerant and early-maturing seeds available, expanding irrigation and water harvesting systems in the most vulnerable northern and transition-zone districts, strengthening national food and seed reserves, monitoring the cocoa belt through collaboration with the Ghana Cocoa Board, and providing farmers with additional extension services on shade and disease control. Rain-fed districts will receive alerts and forecasts through extension officers and mobile advisories, informing them of when dry spells are expected to begin and end.\n\nThe tropical Pacific is currently experiencing a very strong El Niño, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center providing a 96 percent chance that the index will intensify to 2.0°C or more between November 2026 and January 2027. For Ghana, the concern is focused on a hotter, drier dry season from November 2026 to April 2027, which could lead to bushfires, water stress, and increased dust levels. Heat stress is expected to peak between February and April 2027, particularly in the northern regions. The effects of El Niño do not affect all areas uniformly, and GMet cautions that the severity of the impact and the most affected districts remain uncertain.\n\nGhana has previously faced strong El Niño events in 1982/83, 1997/98, 2015/16, and a moderate one in 2023/24. The 2023/24 episode saw a significant decline in cocoa production, estimated at 20 percent due to heavy rains from April to June 2023 followed by a harsh dry spell from November 2023 to February 2024. Dr Alhassan Iddrisu, the Government Statistician, has warned that inadequate rainfall could result in a reduced food supply and increased prices, with cocoa often being among the crops that suffer the most.",
  "summary": "Gyamfi says MoFA will publish the El Niño measures for farmers once its plan with GMet is finished in the coming days.",
  "key_points": [
    "MoFA and GMet drafting national El Niño plan to protect crops",
    "Plan aims to safeguard crops and livestock during prolonged dry spells",
    "Measures include drought-tolerant seeds, irrigation expansion, and food reserves"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}