Browsing by Author "Fosu, K.Y."
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Item The Determinants of Health and Nutrition of Children Under. Five in Ghana.(University of Ghana, 1994-09) Asante, F.A.; Asenso-Okyere, W. K.; Fosu, K.Y.; University of Ghana, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, School of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economics and AgribusinessThis study examines the determinants of health and nutrition of children under five in Ghana using data on 2127 children and their households drawn from the Ghana Living Standards Survey in 1987/88 (GLSS I). The study reveals that Ghanaian children of 0 to 59 months obtain 82.7 percent of the recommended required daily allowance of calorie intake. Also the children weighed 9.9 percent higher than the recommended weight of 12.0 kg. It was further shown that the level of undernutrition of children under-five has not changed since 1980. About 29.5 percent of children are chronically undernourished, 27.2 percent are underweight and 7.1 percent are acutely undernourished. ,, Empirical results show that a 10 percent increases in income (proxied by total expenditure), household size in adult equivalent, relative prices of millet, garri, cocoyam and plantain to maize result in an increase of 9.56 percent, 0.73 percent, 5.45 percent, 6.04 percent, 3.33 percent and 3.45 percent of food available to the household, respectively. Similarly, a 10 percent increase in the relative prices of yam, cassava and guinea corn to maize result in a decrease in food availability to the household by 21.29 percent, 10.46 percent and 2.97 percent, respectively. The study further shows that food intake of the child and the genetic factors of parents have important roles in the determination of the health condition of children with elasticities of 0.019 and 0.445 respectively. Policy experiments with household expenditure, household size in adult equivalent, price of cassava and price of maize showed that percentage changes in the mean expenditures give the greatest impact on the food available to the child while percentage changes in the mean hous.ehold size in adult equivalent give the least impact.Item Econometric Modelling Of the Effects Of Intersectoral Labour Mobility On Deforestation in Ghana, 1970-99.(University of Ghana, 2001-07) Owusu, V.; Fosu, K.Y.; Sarpong, D.B.; University of Ghana, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, School of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economics and AgribusinessThe study analyses the effects of intersectoral labour mobility between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors on deforestation in Ghana. It is based on annual time series data covering the period 1970—99. The study describes the basic determinants of intersectoral labour mobility and deforestation and estimates the magnitudes o f the effects of their determinants in Ghana. The empirical results show that the effects of intersectoral labour mobility between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors on the environment is weak in the long run but statistically strong in the short-run. Furthermore, unemployment rate in the non-agricultural sector has contributed to the slow down o f intersectoral labour mobility to the non-agricultural sector. In addition, the increased rural population pressure on land has tended to increase the forest area cleared for agriculture. The study also observed that the producer price of cocoa tended to exert a significant positive effect on deforestation through agricultural expansion. This result suggests, inter alia, that polices which tend to provide incentives to farmers and encourage the use of improved technologies which stimulates increased productivity in the cocoa sector will reduce pressure on land and slow down the rate of deforestation in Ghana. Other policy recommendations and suggestions for future research are also made in the study.Item Effect of Climate Change on Maize Supply in Ghana, 1970-2002(University of Ghana, 2003-08) Ahene, A.A.; Fosu, K.Y.; Baah-Nuakoh, K.; University of Ghana, College of Humanities, School of Social Sciences, Department of EconomicsSocieties which depend upon agriculture for their livelihood may face the perils of climate change (Global Wanning), especially developing countries in the tropics and subtropics where some crops are already near their maximum temperature tolerance and where dry land and non-irrigated agriculture predominate. Yields will tend to decrease with even nominal amounts of climate change. Agriculture in Ghana is largely rain fed, therefore changes in climate in the form of changes in rainfall for example, may affect agricultural supply especially crops, maize inclusive. This study examines the effects of climate change, using rainfall and temperature as climate variables, on maize supply in Ghana. Annual time series data on temperature, rainfall, and output of maize, prices o f maize, rice, cassava and fertiliser covering the period 1970-2002 are used. The error correction model and Granger Causality Test were employed in the analysis. The results of the study show that climate change in the form of change in rainfall exerts a statistically significant effect on supply of maize. The study further confirms that rainfall is essential during crop growth, and the critical major period o f rainfall is the best time to plant to avoid water stress and pest infestation. The study closes with some policy recommendations and suggestions for future research.Item Intersectoral labor mobility and deforestation in Ghana(Environment and Development Economics, 2012-12) Owusu, V.; Fosu, K.Y.; Burger, K.Abstract This paper quantifies the effects of the determinants of intersectoral labor mobility and the effect of intersectoral labor mobility on deforestation in Ghana over the period 1970-2008. A cointegration and error correction modeling approach is employed. The empirical results show that labor mobility from the agricultural to the non-agricultural sector exerts negative effects on deforestation in Ghana in the long run and short run. Relative agricultural income exerts a significant negative effect on intersectoral labor mobility in the long run. Deforestation is influenced positively by population pressure, the price of fertilizer and rainfall, whereas access to irrigation infrastructure exerts a negative effect in the long run. In the short run, real producer prices of cocoa and maize exert significant positive effects on deforestation whereas access to irrigation infrastructure exerts a negative significant effect. Fruitful policy recommendations based on the empirical magnitudes and directions of these effects are made in this paper. © Copyright Cambridge University Press 2012.Item Sustainability of Maize-Based Cropping Systems in Northern Ghana(University of Ghana, 1998-06) Abatania, L.N.; Fosu, K.Y.; Al-hassan, R.; University of Ghana, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, School of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economics and AgribusinessThis study was carried out in Northern Ghana with the objective of assessing the sustainability1 of five maize-based cropping systems in the area. The cropping systems are maize-cowpea rotation, maize-cowpea relay intercropping, maize-cowpea mixed intercropping,sole maize continuously cropped and maize-sorghum-groundnuts mixed intercropping. The study also sought to establish any variability in the cropping systems of Northern Ghana, strategies adopted by farmers to increase crop yield as well as the cost-effectiveness of the strategies adopted. To achieve the objectives above information on existing cropping systems was obtained through a structured questionnaire interview with 60 farmers selected from 6 villages (Kpongu and Sing in the Upper West region, Wiaga and Dullugu in the Upper East region and Woribogu and Cheshegu in the Northern region). Data on crop yields and quantities of inputs were obtained from records of the Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) while prices of inputs and crop products were obtained from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Policy Planning Monitoring and Evaluation Department's statistics. Existing cropping systems were compared to those found in the literature to establish the variability of cropping systems in the study area. Strategies adopted by farmers to increase crop yield were also established from the structured interviews. Partial budget anaysis was used to assess the cost-effectiveness of strategies adopted by farmers to increase crop yields while Total Factor Productivity (TFP) indices were calculated to assess the long run sustainability of the cropping systems under consideration. Results of the study indicate that cropping systems in Northern Ghana van' across locations. The results also reveal that strategies adopted by farmers to increase crop yields are cost-effective in the short run. However, in the long run three out of the five cropping systems under study are not sustainable when natural resource flows (the level of soil nitrogen) are considered. Without considering natural resource flows, none of the systems was found to be sustainable. In order to achieve sustainable crop production, bullock traction should be used for land preparation to reduce labour requirements. There should be appropriate intercropping of cereals and legumes as well as rotation of cereals with legumes. Extension education should be improved mainly through radio broadcast in local languages. Through radio broadcast farmers that cannot be reached during farm or home visits can benefit from extension education.