Ms Jenna Tajchman-Trofim, the Agriculture Development Officer, Office of Economic Growth, USAID Ghana, said spatial planning was key for generating and applying information to design, monitor, and manage conservation sites.

It was also important for fisheries management, disaster reduction and other investments to increase the resilience of fishing families and sustain food production. She said the USAID's Climate Change and Development Strategy guided their work of helping countries transition to lasting climate-resilient and low-emission economic development.

She said the USAID sought to reduce the need for costly Climate Change adaptation solution, saved lives and properties and to ensure sustainable fishing as a way of life.  Speaking at the 68th Annual New Year School and Conference at the University of Ghana, Ms Tajchman-Trofim said the objectives of the USAID's change strategy were adaptation, integration and mitigation.

She said adaptation helped countries and communities prepare for and adapt to Climate Change, whereas the integration factored in Climate Change knowledge into all the Agency's programmes.  She noted that mitigation helped countries slow or curb carbon emissions, while spurring growth and development through clean energy and sustainable landscapes.

Ms Tajchman-Trofim said the Agency was using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for the Coastal Hazards and Climate Adaptation in Sustainable Fisheries Management Project in 77 communities, in the Western Region.

She said fisherfolks engaged in fish processing needed access to the storefront to conduct their livelihoods, hence the need to preserve Ghana's coastal lines.  "Moderate Sea level rise, salt water intrusion, effects on fisheries, changes in coastal region crops, and multiple impacts of coastal erosion and flooding are major threats to life and property in coastal areas," she stated.

"Forest and wetlands need to be preserved to mitigate the impacts of climate change." 

Dr Donald Robadue Junior, Coastal Management Informatics, the University of Rhodes Island, Graduate School of Oceanography, called for spatial planning for vulnerable coastal communities in Ghana.  The 68th Annual New Year School and Conference is on the theme: "Promoting National Development through Agriculture Modernisation: The Role of ICT."

The aim of this year's School and Conference is to create the platform for passionate discussions on how ICT could be integrated into agriculture to modernise the sector for sustainable national development. It is being organised by the School of Continuing and Distance Education, University of Ghana, under the auspices of the MTN, Eximbank Ghana, and The Kosmos Innovation Centre.