School of Agriculture
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Item Microfinance With Education In Rural Ghana: Men’s Perception Of Household Level Impact(African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, 2012) Hagan, L.L.; Aryeetey, R.; Colecraft, E.K.; et al.Microcredit schemes have been shown to enhance women’s Income Generation Activities (IGA), household food security, and child nutrition. However, spouses or Male Household Heads (MHH) can influence how women’s loans are invested and how incomes ensuing from the investments are expended. This study describes how MHH perceived and experienced the participation of female caregivers from their household in the Enhancing Child Nutrition through Animal Source Food Management (ENAM) project. The ENAM project was designed as an integrated intervention providing microcredit, entrepreneurship, and nutrition education to women in rural communities in Ghana. Eighty-five MHH of ENAM project caregivers in two regions of Ghana were interviewed about their awareness of the microcredit and education intervention, their involvement in the IGA that the caregivers’ loans were invested in, and their perceptions of the impact of the project on the caregivers’ IGA as well as household and child nutrition. The majority of MHH indicated that they had been consulted by the caregivers about the decision to participate in the ENAM project. The most common reasons given for consenting to the caregivers’ decision to participate in the program were expectations that the caregiver would receive business capital (30.6%), education on optimal child feeding (36.5%), and income to enable caregivers to contribute more to household expenses (31.8%). Concerning the project’s impact, MHH perceived that the caregivers’ project participation had a positive impact on their business practices, particularly concerning improved customer relations. The MHH perceived that caregivers’ incomes increased because they participated in ENAM as evidenced by regular income savings and increased contributions to household food and non-food expenditures. However, MHH reported decreases in their contributions to almost all household expenditure categories in response to the perceived increase in caregivers’ incomes. The MHH also perceived improvements in home meal quality. In summary, MHH credited the ENAM project with improved caregiver’s incomes and increased share of household expenses. However, this outcome resulted in unanticipated declines in MHH contribution to household expenses. Further studies are needed to understand the impact of empowering women through social experiments on households.Item Measuring sustainability of conservation and conventional practices in maize production in Ghana(Journal of Agriculture and Environment for International Development, 2020) Boimah, M.; Mensah-Bonsu, A.; Osei-Asare, Y.; Sarpong, D.B.Scientists and researchers worldwide have recommended Conservation Agriculture has the potential to promote sustainability in agriculture. This paper attempts to measure and compare the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of both conservation and conventional practices used for maize production in the northern region of Ghana employing the Multi-Attribute Value Theory (MAVT) approach. Based on the three pillars of sustainability (economic, social, and environmental), adopters of minimum tillage practice (scoring 0.5, 0.6, 0.82), and the combined adoption of minimum tillage and integrated organic-inorganic fertilizer application (scoring 0.53, 0.5, 0.88) emerged as sustainable practices. Despite these scores, the z-test of difference in means of the conservation practices and conventional ones were all insignificant, indicating that the conservation practices in use were not different from the conventional ones in terms of their contribution to sustainable maize production. Technical assistance and training that aids in ensuring the appropriate application of conservation practices should be ensured if the goal of sustainability is to be realized.Item The Productivity and Management of Ghanaian Soils(Soil Productivity Management in Ghana, 2023) Adiku, S.G.K.Over decades we have longed for a book that related the scientific principles of soils to the Ghanaian context. Most of the textbooks were written by foreign authors with little or no data on soils from Ghana. Our reading and understanding about soils were abstract. This book fills this great vacuum with data from the soils in Ghana. The book will enhance the capacity in solving the peculiar problems of soils in our ecological zones. The book takes the reader not only through the knowledge of soils but also the related edaphic properties which directly or indirectly impact soil productivityItem Impact of Bioenergy Crop Adoption on Total Crop Incomes of Farmers in Northern Ghana: The Case of Jatropha Curcas(Building a Resilient and Sustainable Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2018-06) Kemeze, L.S.; Mensah-Bonsu, A.; Egyir, I.S.; Amegashie, D.P.K.; Nlom, J.H.The present study examines the adoption of Jatropha Curcas as a bioenergy crop in West Mamprusi and Mion districts of Northern Ghana. A gender analysis is also undertaken. Using data from 400 farmers, the study employs a propensity score matching method to analyze the impact of the adoption of Jatropha Curcas on total crop incomes of farmers. The study concludes that Jatropha adoption significantly reduces the level of crop income per hectare of farmers. The reduction is worse for women-headed households compared to men. Specifically, the Average Treatment effect on the Treated (ATT) estimate is GHC −385.23 per hectare for the whole sample. The study recommends the development of appropriate strategies and a regulatory framework to harness the potential economic opportunities from Jatropha cultivation.Item Ghana(Beyond Food Production: The Role of Agriculture in Poverty Reduction, 2007) Al-Hassan, R.M.; Jatoe, J.B.D.Item Can ENSO help in agricultural decision-making in Ghana?(Climate Prediction and Agriculture: Advances and Challenges, 2007-01) Adiku, S.G.K.; Mawunya, F.D.; Jones, J.W.; Yangyouru, M.Rainfall variability has become a major agricultural issue in sub-Saharan Africa, especially since crop production is mainly rainfed. Irrigation technologies are expensive and their implementation is slow. Many researchers now believe that some understanding of the causes of rainfall variability would lead to measures that could be used to investigate reduction in total rainfall and/or drought effects. © 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.Item Apprenticeship System of ''Wayside'' Seamstresses From Selected Neighborhoods in Accra.(University of Ghana, 1997-10) Acquaah-Harrison, P.;The purpose of this study was to investigate the apprenticeship system of fifty seamstresses and fifty apprentices from Achimota, Legon and Madina neighbourhoods of Accra. A stratified sampling technique was used to select the respondents from these neighbourhoods. The respondents were interviewed by the researcher, using two separate structured questionnaires: One for the seamstresses and the other for the apprentices. A non-obtrusive observational guide was also used to evaluate teaching/learning interactions at the workshop. Frequency, percentage distribution and cross-tabulation were used to analyze the data. Fathers with low level of education endorsed apprenticeship for their daughters (Ref Appendix VI). The study revealed that the seamstresses were aged between 20 and 40. Their educational attainment ranged from primary six to university. Eighty-two percent had their professional training informally in kiosks while the rest either attended formal vocational training schools or had no formal training in sewing. The apprentices were aged between 15 and 33 years. The educational level of 90% of the apprentices ranged from primary to vocational school. Ten percent had had no formal education. An aspirant apprentice ought to be introduced to a seamstress by a respectable member of her family who would be the guarantor. Apprenticeship fees ranging from 020,000 to 0120,000 were paid for a period of two and a half years apprenticeship, in addition to six months service to sew with the trainer without being paid. The apprenticeship system was devoid of theory work, with an average of seven hours each day spent on some sewing activity. Teaching and learning were through demonstration by the seamstress, observation and practice by the apprentices who most of the time taught one another (peer teaching). Eighty-two percent of the seamstress taught the sewing of slit and kaba and casual wears and eighteen percent taught the sewing of wedding gowns in addition to slit and kaba, using the free hand method of cutting. End of apprenticeship was marked by a final examination. Eighty percent of the apprentices took the Ghana National Tailors/Dressmakers Association (GNTDA) examination. The rest were examined by their trainers who had not registered with the national association. A graduation ceremony was organized in each neighbourhood for the members of GNTDA to cater for an average of two apprentices each from a workshop who completed their service together. Ninety-nine percent of the apprentices aspired to establish their own sewing shop in Accra after training because they were optimistic that business would be better in Accra than in their home towns. It is recommended that, The Ghana National Tailors and Dressmakers Association (GNTDA) in consultation with the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) Apprentice Training Board and the Ghana Education Service (GES), develop common syllabus and text books for the Apprenticeship System. Seamstresses should emphasize the importance of fabric grain as well as principles of design as applied in garment design. This would equip the apprentice seamstress with better knowledge in garment design and construction.Item Spatial Price Transmission and Market Integration Analysis: The Case of Maize Market in Ghana(University of Ghana, 2014-07) Ayeduvor, S.; University of Ghana, College of Humanities , School of Arts , Department of Philosophy and Classics; University of Ghana, College of Humanities , School of Arts , Department of Philosophy and ClassicsThis study presents an analysis of spatial price transmission and market integration of major maize markets in Ghana over the period 1995-2013. Monthly wholesale maize prices for the various markets were used for the analysis. The Augmented-Dickey Fuller test was used to test for the stationarity of individual price series and was confirmed by the KPSS test. All the price series data that were used tested for Unit Root. They were found to be non-stationary at levels but stationary after first difference at 1%, 5% and 10% significant levels. Johansen Maximum likelihood cointegration test was used to test the cointegration between the market pairs. It was found that all five market pairs were cointegrated. The proof of cointegration is also evidence for a common domestic maize market in Ghana, where inter-market prices adjust to achieve long-run, market equilibrium. The speed of adjustment and half lives from the vector error correction model shows that averagely, 8.2% of any disequilibrium was corrected within a month by the producer markets, while 12.4% of such shocks were corrected within a month by consumer markets. The net producer markets will return to equilibrium in 10 months while net consumer markets will return to equilibrium by 5 months after a shock. This means that shocks are quickly corrected by consumer market than by producer markets. Also adjustment to shock was characterized by asymmetry in that adjustments to price increases are corrected faster than price decreases. Two out of five market pairs exhibited asymmetry in price transmission while the remaining three were statistically not significant. The inventory and stock holding behavior of traders was the cause of asymmetry in price transmission. The evidence of price causation and leadership by Granger causality test shows Techiman as price leaders. In all, the findings indicate that major maize markets in Ghana are well integrated. It is therefore recommended that policy initiatives be directed towards ensuring efficient transportation of agricultural commodities across markets. These include investment in new transporting vehicles, rail/road construction and maintenance. These may contribute to reducing transaction costs and subsequently improving market integration and the imperfection observed in the maize market in Ghana. Also it is recommended that inventory and stock behaviour of traders be improved through investment in storage facilities by the government given the seasonal nature of the commodity. This can ensure even flow of maize throughout the season and enhance traders’ response to both positive and negative shocks.Item Nodulation, Nitrogen Fixation and Diversity of the African Yam Bean Rhizobia in Four Ghanaian Soils(University of Ghana, 2014) Tettey, A.Nitrogen fertilization had a significant adverse effect on nodulation, nodule dry weight and N derived from N2 fixation, whiles there was an increase in dry matter yield. In contrast, P fertilization had a positive effect on all the parameters mentioned above. The cross–inoculation studies revealed that the African yam bean rhizobia were able to form nodules on cowpea, yardlong bean and Pueraria, but not on bambara, lima bean and crotalaria, even though rhizobia isolated from bambara, lima bean and yardlong bean formed nodules on the African yam bean. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis with RPO4 showed that the 30 isolates examined consisted of two major genetic groups, with a mean similarity of 60%. A similar phylogenetic clustering of these isolates was observed with the RPO1 primer with mean similarity of 54%. However, the RPO1 primer revealed a higher diversity among the African yam bean isolates in Haatso and Adenta series than did the RPO4 primer, based on the Shannon–Weiner diversity index. The amplification of the 16S–23S rDNA (ITS) gene of almost all the isolates gave band of sizes from 350 bp to 850 bp. Combined restriction analysis of digested ITS region with HhaI and HindIII endonucleases, also distinguished the isolates into two major phylogenetic groups at 56% similarity level. Characterization of the test rhizobia isolates based on PCR amplification of the 16S rDNA gene gave almost a single band of 1500 bp. Restriction of the 16S gene with HaeIII and HhaI enzymes also clustered the isolates into two major groups at 53% similarity level. From the results, it can be concluded that, African yam bean rhizobia may be widespread and diverse in Ghanaian soils. Also, the African yam bean appears to be a relatively permissive host. This character however may not guarantee effectiveness in N2 fixation and may sometimes lead to the formation of less effective symbioses with less specific and ineffective strains. It is therefore recommended that the study be conducted in various areas with different soils types to establish the validity of the conclusion, that the African yam bean nodulating rhizobia are common in most if not all Ghanaian soils. Further taxonomic study of indigenous African yam bean Rhizobium isolates in different soils should be carried out by taking as many morphological, biochemical and genetic characters as possible to have a more complete picture of the taxonomy and the evolutionary relationship between the African yam rhizobia that nodulate other commonly given legumes, such as cowpea, lima bean and bambara groundnuts.Collection