Solar PV Lighting and Studying after Sunset: Analysis of Micro-benefits in Off-grid Rural Ghana

Solar PV light provides school children living in off-grid rural communities the opportunity to have clean and bright lighting to study after sunset. On the contrary, lighting provided from poor sources can pollute and adversely affect human eyes during reading and writing. Using indicator-based questionnaires in cross-sectional surveys, households with and without solar PV lighting were surveyed in off-grid rural communities in Ghana. The study investigated lighting and children’s studies after sunset. The results indicated that whereas solar PV light of 5-20 watts dc lamps was sufficient for 5-6 children to study together, lighting from kerosene lantern could be sufficient for 1-3 children. All things being equal, the results showed that children who use solar PV light to study upto 2 hours after sunset are likely to improve on their examination results. The extent to which solar PV lighting significantly impacts on studying after sunset was established using some identified indicators. Knowledge of the results provides understanding of the relative constraints in lighting services faced by children in rural communities without access to quality lighting. Such micro-level data will help to enhance policy and planning efforts to increase access to clean and renewable energy-based lighting devices to achieve efficient visual comfort in off-grid rural communities

Watching the Smoke Rise Up: Thermal Efficiency, Pollutant Emissions and Global Warming Impact of Three Biomass Cookstoves in Ghana

In Ghana, about 73% of households rely on solid fuels for cooking. Over 13,000 annual deaths are attributed to exposure to indoor air pollution from inefficient combustion. In this study, assessment of thermal efficiency, emissions, and total global warming impact of three cookstoves commonly used in Ghana was completed using the International Workshop Agreement (IWA) Water Boiling Test (WBT) protocol. Statistical averages of three replicate tests for each cookstove were computed. Thermal efficiency results were: wood-burning cookstove: 12.2 ± 5.00% (Tier 0); coalpot charcoal stove: 23.3 ± 0.73% (Tier 1–2); and Gyapa charcoal cookstove: 30.00 ± 4.63% (Tier 2–3). The wood-burning cookstove emitted more CO, CO2, and PM2.5 than the coalpot charcoal stove and Gyapa charcoal cookstove. The emission factor (EF) for PM2.5 and the emission rate for the wood-burning cookstove were over four times higher than the coalpot charcoal stove and Gyapa charcoal cookstove. To complete the WBT, the study results showed that, by using the Gyapa charcoal cookstove instead of the wood-burning cookstove, the global warming impact could be potentially reduced by approximately 75% and using the Gyapa charcoal cookstove instead of the coalpot charcoal cookstove by 50%. We conclude that there is the need for awareness, policy, and incentives to enable end-users to switch to, and adopt, Gyapa charcoal cookstoves for increased efficiency and reduced emissions/global warming impact

Minimizing heat transmission loads and improving energy efficiency of building envelopes in sub-Saharan Africa using bio-based composite materials

Increasing effect of climate change coupled with global warming has necessitated the need for mechanical cooling in buildings to provide indoor thermal comfort. Many countries in tropical climates, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, use sandcrete blocks for constructing building envelopes which have relatively high thermal conductivity. This leads to increased heat transmission through the building walls resulting in increased building electricity consumption using air-conditioners. This study focused on opportunity of minimizing the thermal conductivity of sandcrete blocks by mixing it with available bio-based local materials, specifically treated sawdust and palm fibers. Experiments were conducted to determine the thermal conductivity, compressive strength and densities of sandcrete mixed with 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% of treated sawdust and palm fiber to form building block composites. The study results showed that incorporating the bio-based material into the sandcrete decreases its density and thermal conductivity, thereby decreasing the wall heat transmission load. Using a minimum standard limit of 3 MPa for compressive strength for building envelopes, the composite samples: S10, P10, P20 and P30 were found to be appropriate to be used to minimize wall heat transmission. The composite of 70% sandcrete with 30% treated palm fiber (P30) exhibited the best thermal performance with 38% reduction in thermal conductivity compared to the control sandcrete block. Maximum wall heat flux reduction of 52 W/m2 was attained at peak load with the composite P30 compared to the control sample P0 (100% sandcrete). In addition, using the degree-days cooling for Ghana, the analysis indicated maximum electricity saving potential of 453.40 kWh per year for an office space cooling using the sandcrete-palm fiber composite P30 as the building envelope

Institutional Environments for Enabling Agricultural Technology Innovations: The Role of Land Rights in Ethiopia, Ghana, India and Bangladesh

Land rights are essential assets for improving the livelihoods of the rural poor. This literature based paper shed light to some land rights issues that are crucial for the effectiveness and sustainability of implementing technological innovations in marginalized rural areas of Ethiopia, Ghana, India and Bangladesh. By analysing country specific land right regimes, this paper aims to understand what institutional conditions might constitute barriers to the effective implementation of technological innovations and how they might be overcome. Land rights issues considered in this paper include public and private ownership of land in Ethiopia, customary and statutory law in Ghana, and gender equality and land rights in India and Bangladesh. A better understanding of institutional barriers for the effective implementation of technological innovations is a precondition for complementing technological with enabling institutional innovations and for improving priority setting, targeting and sequencing in the implementation of productivity increasing development measures

Between Hope and Hype: Traditional Knowledge(s) Held by Marginal Communities

Traditional Knowledge (TK) systems have always been integral to the survival and adaptation of human societies. Yet, they enjoy a fairly recent recognition and popularization by scientists, the media, politicians, corporates and the wider public. In this paper we present a typology of key driving forces behind the popularization of TK held by marginal communities: an equality preference motive, a value motive, a compliance motive, a scarcity motive and a strategic motive. Secondly, through the use of a simple model, we discuss the hype's impact on marginal communities. Moreover, we critically assess the outcome of a number of policy instruments that intend, in part, to protect traditional knowledge bases of such communities. Our analysis primarily draws upon secondary literature; policy documents and case studies within economics, the social sciences, conservation biology and legal studies. We argue that whilst the public and institutional hype around TK may have resulted in its prioritization within international conventions and frameworks, its institutionalization may have adversely impacted marginalized communities, and in particular contexts, unintentionally led to the creation of 'new' marginals. We purport that the traditional innovation incentive motive does not hold for protecting TK within a private property regime. Instead we identify a conservation incentive motive and a distribution motive that justify deriving policy instruments that focus on TK to protect marginal communities

Social Safety Nets for Food and Nutritional Security in India

This paper brings together existing literature on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNRGEA) and the Public Distribution System (PDS) in India, offering a narrative review of the evidence on impacts on food security, health and nutrition of beneficiaries. Both programs operate on a large scale and have the capacity to impact the factors leading to undernutrition. It is evident that despite the deficiencies in implementation, both the MGNREGA and the PDS are inclusive and reach the poor and the marginalized who are likely to also experience greater undernutrition and poor health. Data challenges have however prevented researchers from conducting studies that assess the ultimate impact of these two large-scale programs on health and nutrition. The evidence that exists suggests largely positive impacts indicating a clear potential to make these programs more nutrition sensitive not just by incorporating elements that would explicitly address nutritional concerns but also by directing specific attention to innovations that strengthen critical complementarities and synergies that exist between the two programs

Food and Nutrition Security Indicators: A Review

In this paper, we review existing food and nutrition security indicators, discuss some of their advantages and disadvantages, and finally classify them and describe their relationships and overlaps. In order to achieve this, the paper makes reference to the existing definitions of food and nutrition security (FNS), in particular as they have been agreed upon and implemented in the FoodSecure project (www.foodsecure.eu). The main existing conceptual frameworks of FNS predating the present paper are also used as guidelines and briefly discussed. Finally, we make recommendations in terms of the most appropriate FNS indicators to quantify the impacts of various shocks and interventions on food and nutrition security outcomes

Electricity Access, Community Healthcare Service Delivery, and Rural Development Nexus: Analysis of 3 Solar Electrified CHPS in Off-Grid Communities in Ghana

Over 600 million people living in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to electricity. Modern healthcare services, including vaccine refrigeration, which require electricity are therefore lacking in such energy-deprived communities. In this work, analysis has been conducted on how electricity access can help improve healthcare service delivery and rural development, with a case study on 3 different off-grid solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in community-based health planning and services (CHPS) in Ghana. Analysis from this study showed that for the 3.0 kWp solar PV systems installed at the various sites, the in-house electricity consumptions are between 4.30 and 7.58 kWh per day. It was found out that excess electricity generation of 148–304 kWh per month is available and can be used to provide other economic services including phone charging, torchlight battery charging, and small-sized cold storage services to generate income for the maintenance of the systems, which is critical for sustainability of solar PV installations in rural poor communities. The study results also showed that electrified health facilities which are able to provide basic healthcare services have potential impact on community health outcomes and rural development. Assessment conducted at the CHPS compounds revealed that, generally, there is improvement in healthcare service delivery resulting in time savings of 15-43 hours per month for the inhabitants which can potentially be used for productive work. The time savings were more significant in females and children than in males. In many rural agro-based communities in developing countries, female and children are usually the workforce engaged in various farming activities. This paper concludes that access to electricity in CHPS compounds helps to improve community health outcomes and increases time availability for women to engage in productive work that can potentially result in significant socioeconomic activities and rural development