Browsing by Author "Arthur, I.K."
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Item The 2020 Maize Production Failure in Ghana: A Case Study of Ejura-Sekyedumase Municipality(Sustainability, 2022) Obour, P.B.; Arthur, I.K.; Owusu, K.This paper examines the causes of widespread maize production failure in Ghana during the 2020 minor growing season. A mixed-methods approach was used to study smallholder maize farmers in the Ejura-Sekyedumase Municipality to provide a holistic understanding of the factors behind the maize production failure and to inform policy interventions. The results show that the decline in maize grain yield was caused by the failure of the minor season rains and, more importantly, the destruction of maize plants by fall armyworms. Other factors include poor soils and inadequate farm inputs contributed minimally to the observed maize failures. The agronomic practices adopted by the farmers to mitigate crop failures were undermined by their inability to master the onset and cessation of rainfall, the ineffectiveness of pesticides to control the fall armyworms and financial challenges. It is recommended that the government promote and support rainwater harvesting to address the impacts of drought and pests on food crop production. Furthermore, to ensure sustainable For food production, a combination of indigenous knowledge and scientific farm practices are crucial. accurately forecast the weather and control the fall armyworms.Item (Dis) continuities in Scale, Scope and Complexities of the Space Economy: The Shopping Mall Experience in Ghana.(Springer, 2015-06) Oteng-Ababio, M.; Arthur, I.K.Contrary to common assumptions, the (re)emergence of organized shopping malls in Ghana is not a new development. Accounts of their existence date back to the pre-colonial era, when their character, status and operations were as popular as the malls of today. What is missing in current narratives is an analysis of how these malls— consisting of elegant apartment designs integrated with appreciable green spaces and centrally located food courts to entice visitors to lengthen their stay—impact the urban economy and the traditional retail structure. Using participant observation, semistructured interviews and a survey, we examine the role of malls in the local economy and their possible ramifications on the retail structure. The paper interrogates whether the emerging malls can crowd out their seemingly ‘fortified’ informal predecessors. The results demonstrate two key findings. First, that positive outcome is intrinsically tied to the manner in which malls are conceptualized, especially with increasing trade liberalization and its reinvigorating impact on the informal retail structure. Our findings frame the continuity of the informal sector as important to the success of the malls. Second, that malls must respond positively to the rising demands and tastes of postmodern consumers and the middle class by investing in attractive, iconic architecture—or they risk being pushed out of business by the ever-growing activities of the informal retail sector. Our results are congruent with current literature that questions some of the conceptual and policy framings of informality, and we opine that such framing makes evident the sector’s significant contribution to urban poverty alleviation.Item (Dis)continuities in Scale, Scope and Complexities of the Space Economy: the Shopping Mall Experience in Ghana(Urban Forum, 2015-06) Oteng-Ababio, M.; Arthur, I.K.Contrary to common assumptions, the (re)emergence of organized shopping malls in Ghana is not a new development. Accounts of their existence date back to the pre-colonial era, when their character, status and operations were as popular as the malls of today. What is missing in current narratives is an analysis of how these malls—consisting of elegant apartment designs integrated with appreciable green spaces and centrally located food courts to entice visitors to lengthen their stay—impact the urban economy and the traditional retail structure. Using participant observation, semi-structured interviews and a survey, we examine the role of malls in the local economy and their possible ramifications on the retail structure. The paper interrogates whether the emerging malls can crowd out their seemingly ‘fortified’ informal predecessors. The results demonstrate two key findings. First, that positive outcome is intrinsically tied to the manner in which malls are conceptualized, especially with increasing trade liberalization and its reinvigorating impact on the informal retail structure. Our findings frame the continuity of the informal sector as important to the success of the malls. Second, that malls must respond positively to the rising demands and tastes of postmodern consumers and the middle class by investing in attractive, iconic architecture—or they risk being pushed out of business by the ever-growing activities of the informal retail sector. Our results are congruent with current literature that questions some of the conceptual and policy framings of informality, and we opine that such framing makes evident the sector’s significant contribution to urban poverty alleviation. (PDF) (Dis)continuities in Scale, Scope and Complexities of the Space Economy: the Shopping Mall Experience in Ghana. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271732106_Discontinuities_in_Scale_Scope_and_Complexities_of_the_Space_Economy_the_Shopping_Mall_Experience_in_Ghana [accessed Sep 18 2018].Item Evaluating the Viability of the Ghan Airport Cargo Centre as a Public-Private Partnership Project(Springer, 2022) Arthur, I.K.; Agyemang, E.; Nikoi, E.G.A.This chapter evaluates the viability of Ghana Airport Cargo Centre as a public-private partnership project and discusses its implications using desk reviews, interviews, air cargo data, and the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analytical tool. The study found that safety and security, development of a state-of-the-art cargo terminal, competitiveness, and local expertise and technology transfer were key strengths of the partnership. Relatively low cargo volumes were found to be a weakness. Peace, democracy, and economic stability were also found to be opportunities, while potential political interference, the COVID-19 pandemic, and competition within the West African subregion were found to be threats of the partnership. The study concluded that the current partnership arrangement, whereby private equity is substantially high, and the government simply concentrates on providing the “enabling environment” and minimal investment, is a good venture that must be encouraged in Africa.Item Experience the difference: The competitive strategies of food-related entrepreneurs in rural denmark(Geografiska Annaler, Series B: Human Geography, 2015-04) Arthur, I.K.; Hracs, B.J.As food production becomes increasingly integrated, globalized and competitive, small-scale food-related enterprises in many European countries are struggling to market and monetize their products. Although these struggles have been well documented, few studies have considered the ways in which food-related entrepreneurs in rural contexts are adapting to and overcoming these challenges. In particular, little is known about how they differentiate and add value to their products. This article focuses on the development and implementation of new and hybrid commercial strategies by food-related entrepreneurs in three rural communities in Denmark. These strategies add experiential elements to the longstanding practice of commodifying myths associated with rural settings and identities. Although harnessing culture and experiences to sell things is nothing new, we demonstrate that some Danish entrepreneurs are responding to market competition by tweaking and extending these concepts. In particular, it is argued that entrepreneurs use different experiences with varying levels of intensity and consumer engagement for different purposes. Whereas passive experiences such as storytelling are used to educate consumers about the specific qualities of products, more active and participatory experiences are sold as add-ons and standalone products. The findings contribute to our understanding of food-related entrepreneurship in rural contexts, consumption, value creation and the experience of economy more broadly. © 2015 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography.Item Experience the Difference: The Competitive Strategies of Food-Related Entrepreneurs in Rural Denmark.(John Wiley and Sons, 2015) Arthur, I.K.; Hracs, B.J.As food production becomes increasingly integrated, globalized and competitive, small-scale food-related enterprises in many European countries are struggling to market and monetize their products. Although these struggles have been well documented, few studies have considered the ways in which food-related entrepreneurs in rural contexts are adapting to and overcoming these challenges. In particular, little is known about how they differentiate and add value to their products. This article focuses on the development and implementation of new and hybrid commercial strategies by food-related entrepreneurs in three rural communities in Denmark. These strategies add experiential elements to the longstanding practice of commodifying myths associated with rural settings and identities. Although harnessing culture and experiences to sell things is nothing new, we demonstrate that some Danish entrepreneurs are responding to market competition by tweaking and extending these concepts. In particular, it is argued that entrepreneurs use different experiences with varying levels of intensity and consumer engagement for different purposes. Whereas passive experiences such as storytelling are used to educate consumers about the specific qualities of products, more active and participatory experiences are sold as add-ons and standalone products. The findings contribute to our understanding of food-related entrepreneurship in rural contexts, consumption, value creation and the experience of economy more broadly.Item Exploring the resource and capabilities of food related enterprises in rural Denmark: Implications for rural enterprises in Ghana(Ghana Journal of Geography, 2015) Arthur, I.K.; Damoah, O.B.O.Developing economies stands to gain much by learning from the experiences of the developed economies. The study aims to explore the extent to which rural food enterprises utilise their capabilities to organise their resources in the experience economy to create value and remain competitive. The article uses a qualitative open-ended interviews to explore the issues using two cases of small food related enterprises in Denmark. The purpose of the method is to allow the respondents to construct the meaning of the topic from their own perspectives. Using the dominant themes as the main techniques to analyse the data, coupled with the hermeneutics approach, the results show that an entrepreneur’s capability is crucial with regard to small enterprises in rural settings. Specifically, the two case studies illustrate the capabilities of business owners to identify assets at their establishments and the municipality level and reconfigure them into objects aimed at providing experiences for visitors seeking out for rural idyll. The implications of this study on policy and practice on entrepreneurship development in rural Ghana are suggested based on the results.Item Indicator-based assessment of the liveability of communities in the Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana: A transdisciplinary approach(Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 2023) Owusu, A.B.; Mensah, C.A.; Fynn, I.E.M.; Kwang, C.; Arthur, I.K.; Adu-Boahen, K.Local knowledge of spatiotemporal patterns of liveability is vital for choosing where to live and where revital isation efforts must concentrate. We employed transdisciplinary learning to identify 12 liveability indicators and applied them to assess the liveability of 81 communities of Accra, Ghana. The results show that crime and rent are the top two most important liveability indicators. The least three indicators are the availability of jobs, entertainment, and flood susceptibility. Out of 81 communities grouped into five quantiles, ten fell in the 1st quantile (most liveable), 24 communities were in the 2nd quantile, 3rd had 24, 4th 17, and 5th nine communities respectively as least liveable. 1st quantile communities are mainly high-income communities, whiles 5th quantile communities are mainly middle-income communities that have become commercial areas. Not surprisingly, high-income communities like the Airport residential area, East Legon, and Dzorwolu all fall into the 2nd quantile as all these communities are gradually turning into mixed commercial and residential places. The study indicates that low-income communities lack social amenities and resources, which can be attributed to a lack of state social intervention policies. This may mean local administration systems (district assemblies) failing as Ghana’s development agents.Item Promoting a geography of opportunity in Accra, Ghana: Applying lessons from mixed-income development successes and shortcomings(Taylor & Francis Group, 2022) Joseph, M.L.; Arthur, I.K.; Botchway, E.K.Urban poverty in both the developed and developing world is often spatially organized with deprivation highly concentrated in segregated areas of cities. With the rapid urbanization and lack of effective urban planning in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa, segregation, economic deprivation and social exclusion are particularly severe challenges. In the United States, almost 30 years of poverty deconcentration policy has had mixed results and offers cautions to other countries looking to confront urban segregation. Accra, the capital city of Ghana, offers an intriguing example of a city with substantial clusters of poverty and slum areas, but also some neighborhoods with high existing levels of economic integration. Drawing on the theoretical and empirical context of poverty deconcentration efforts in the United States, this paper presents a conceptual framework with two alternative pathways for urban development: an inclusionary pathway and an exclusionary pathway. We use this framework to review and critique Ghana’s existing urban policy and offer implications for inclusionary urban policy in Accra and other similar cities in developing countries.Item Understanding the role of environmental quality attributes in food-related rural enterprise competitiveness(Journal of Environmental Management, 2019-03) Arthur, I.K.; Yamoah, F.A.This paper examines the role of environmental quality attributes in food-related rural enterprise competitiveness in Denmark, using qualitative interviews. The results of the analysis demonstrate that in the quest to minimize small-market and location limitations, food-related rural enterprises are increasingly offering products with labels such as ‘quality’, ‘green’, or ‘ethical’ and ‘sustainability’ to justify high premiums for their products. Thus, environmental quality attributes are becoming prevalent and important business strategy for rural food-related enterprises in the selected communities. The results also establish that undertaking sustainable activities has been influenced by institutional policies that reward environmental conservation with subsidies and other resources. These findings contribute to our understanding of the growing relevance of environmental quality attributes in food-related rural enterprise performance. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd