Browsing by Author "Josiah, M.N."
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Item Availabilty of energy and agricultural mechanization in Ghana(Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment, 2008) Josiah, M.N.; Bani, R.J.; Mahama, A.A.A variety of definitions have been postulated for food security. The bottom line, however, is the availability of food of good quality at an affordable cost to all and at all times. Many approaches have been adopted to achieve an increase in the availability of food. These include among others increased use of mechanization to expand area under cultivation. Many developing countries have adopted agricultural mechanization to modernize and speed up the process of agricultural land expansion. The available land in Ghana that is suitable for mechanization is put at 8 million hectares for which an estimated energy input of 6 × 106 kW is required. Of this amount only 3.1% is available. Analysis have shown that out of the 1.6 million hectares of land currently under mechanized cultivation the required energy input is 12 × 105 kW out of which only 15.6% is available. This shows a wide gap between the energy required and what is available to meet the objectives of agricultural mechanization.Item Postharvest losses of tomatoes in transit(AMA, Agricultural Mechanization in Asia, Africa and Latin America, 2006-03) Bani, R.J.; Josiah, M.N.; Kra, E.Y.Tomatoes are highly perishable and very susceptible to mechanical damage with poor handling and transportation. This study was conducted with the primary objective of establishing the current practices of handling and transportation of tomatoes from a main producing area, Bolgatanga, in the Upper East Region of Ghana, to a main marketing center, Accra, 815 kilometers away. The primary method was to interview the producers, tomato merchants and sellers in the market with the help of a prepared questionnaire. Observations were made on the journey from Bolgatanga to Accra. An assessment of losses along the route was found to be 20%.