ABSTRACT Most pork produced in Ghana tend to be very fatty as most famers do not feed balanced diets to their animals because of the high cost of feed ingredients. High levels of cholesterol and fat from animal products have been associated with coronary heart diseases and stroke in humans and fear of this has led to some instances of negative impact on acceptance of pork for human consumption. Dietary manipulation to reduce fat and cholesterol in pork, if feasible will therefore be important...
ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to do a comparative analysis of the operational strategies and challenges of the NGO MFI and the Rural Bank MFI. The study was conducted in three districts of the Northern region that is Tamale Metropolis, Savelugu-Nanton and Tolon-Kumbugu. This study used purposive and convenience sampling techniques to collect data from 144 respondents. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected. Percentages, frequencies tables and graphs were used to presen...
ABSTRACT Striga hermonthica constitutes a major constraint to maize production and productivity. It is the largest single biological constraint to food production in Sub-Saharan Africa. Hence there is the need to develop hybrids that are tolerant to this constraint. Knowledge and understanding of Striga resistance in early maturing maize inbreds are crucial for the developments of hybrids adapted to Striga-infested environments in the sub-region as well as for enhancing breeding strategies. T...
ABSTRACT The study used contingent valuation to solicit monetary values from researchers and farmers on how much they were willing to sell and buy the following innovations from research respectively: improved seed, soil fertility management techniques, crop protection techniques, safe-use of agro-chemicals as well as farm management and record keeping. Also, a probit model was employed to identify the determinants of researchers’ willingness to sell innovations from research. Furthermore ...
ABSTRACT This study was conducted to assess the effect of replacing soybean meal in concentrate with dried rumen digesta (DRD) on digestibility and growth performance of Djallonké sheep. Sixteen (16) Djallonké rams with an initial average body weight of 12.4±2.4kg of 10-12 months old were randomly assigned to four treatment diets and replicated four times over a 63 day period in a completely randomized design (CRD). The treatments were T0 (0% DRD), T1 (4% DRD), T2 (8% DRD) and T3 (12% DRD...
ABSTRACT The study assesses the postharvest losses along the fresh tomato value chain in the Upper East Region of Ghana. Simple random sampling technique was used to select three districts from the Upper East Region and a total of 80 farmers, 30 wholesalers, and 80 retailers were interviewed using structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics was used to estimate outcome of losses by each actor along the tomato value chain. Kendall‟s Coefficient of Concordance was employed to rank the m...
ABSTRACT Sweet potato root packaging and transport are very important value chain activities in the marketing of the fresh produce. This study investigated the sweet potato storage root packaging and transportation from aggregation centres to urban markets in Ghana. A structured questionnaire was administered to sweet potato root aggregators at Bawku (Upper East regions) and Afram Plains (Eastern region). A follow-up transport experiment was conducted to compare two proposed containers (50 kg...
ABSTRACT Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) is an important multi-purpose crop in Ghana and across West Africa, used as a source of food as well as raw material for medicinal and industrial applications. However, due to limited research efforts to gather relevant information on breeding behaviour and inheritance of desirable traits of existing cultivars to enhance yield and nutritional contents, economic potential of the crop has not been fully exploited. The present study was therefore initiat...
ABSTRACT Tomato is one of the most important vegetable crops cultivated in Ghana and constitutes part of the daily diet of most of the populace. Ghana produces 366,772t/ha annually, yet imports 25,000t/ha of tomato paste and $9.9million worth of fresh tomatoes from Burkina Faso and Europe annually to fill the supply gap which puts a lot of pressure on the country’s GDP. To help minimize importation and bridge the demand gap, several interventions have been proposed including greenhouse prod...
ABSTRACT End-of-season drought, characterized by low and erratic rainfall, is the most important factor limiting groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) production in Niger. Information about farmers' varietal preferences and production constraints are limited. Genotypes have not yet been screened for earliness and tolerance to end-of-season drought. Data on combining ability and heritability estimates are not available. Development of varieties that have better ability to use limited available water...
ABSTRACT Maize is increasingly consumed by Nigerien households. Limited studies have been conducted on the production and productivity of this crop in Niger and very few cultivars (mostly open pollinated varieties) are available to farmers. Knowledge and understanding of farmers’ preferences for new varieties would be invaluable in designing a successful maize breeding program. Maize cultivars grown in Niger are derived mainly from tropical yellow-grained extra-early and early-maturing lowl...
ABSTRACT Knowledge of existing diversity especially at the genotypic level in plant population is crucial for the effective breeding, conservation, management, and efficient utilization of plant genetic resources (PGR) (Mondini et al., 2009). However, Moringa (Moringa oleifera Lamarck), a common and popular plant growing in almost every part of the country with several uses and benefits still remains underutilized tropical crop in Ghana. This is due to the fact that the crop has either receiv...
ABSTRACT The study was undertaken to examine the effect of clustering on profitability among small scale palm oil processing enterprises in the Birim North district of Ghana. The study sought to examine the nature of clustering among palm oil processing enterprises, the net income derived from clusters and the extent of cluster influence on profitability among small scale palm oil processors. A multistage sampling was employed to select 200 respondents for the study. Principal Component Analy...
ABSTRACT Gaining insight into the livelihood strategies adopted by farmers is crucial for the success of interventions aiming at improving livelihood in rural areas. This study assessed the livelihood strategies adopted by farm households in southern Benin. The study was carried out in Allada and Bonou, districts located in the southern region of Benin which was purposively selected for their noticeable agrarian and economic activities. A total of 160 farm households were randomly sampled and...
ABSTRACT Consumer preference is very important in acceptance of an improved crop variety. Participatory rural appraisal (PRA) was therefore conducted on preferred traits of cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L) Walp] among Ghanaian consumers in Ketu North, Ho and Akatsi districts. It was confirmed that the age long preference for large white cowpea among Ghanaian consumers still exists. Based on the results of the PRA, cowpea germplasm was assembled and used in genetic studies on seed coat colour and...