Coping with adversity: Resilience dynamics of livestock farmers in two agroecological zones of Ghana

Despite the increasing occurrence of adverse events including droughts and conflicts, livestock farmers in Ghana continue to raise animals to support their livelihoods and the national economy. We assessed the resilience of cattle farmers (CF) to adverse events they faced using a cross-sectional survey of 287 CF in two agroecological zones in Ghana. Resilience to adversities was assessed using the Resilience Scale (RS-14). Resilience scores and categories were computed and factors that explained variations in resilience categories assessed. The farmers kept, on average, 31 cattle per household, with a majority (91%) also growing crops. Key adverse events confronting them in both districts were animal disease outbreaks, pasture shortages, and theft, with 85% (240/287) losing, on average, seven cattle (15% of the herd size) over a one-year period. The mean resilience score was 71 (SD = 8) out of 98; 52% were highly resilient. Resilience was higher in the southern district (72 versus 70), albeit not statistically significant (p = 0.06). The resilience significantly improved with age, each unit increase in cattle in the herd, and having experience raising livestock (p < 0.001). The CF have relatively high resilience to adverse events affecting their productivity. The findings provide relevant information for implementing mitigation measures to improve production by reducing animal mortalities through high-quality veterinary services

The Public Procurement Act 663 (2003) Of Ghana: Compliance level in Selected Education District Offices

The Procurement of Act 663 (2003) of Ghana was promulgated to sanitize the procurement management process with the ultimate aim of ensuring value for money. Since its introduction in 2003, various evaluation reports have come up with a number of strategies to ensure full compliance in public organizations. The aim of the study was to establish the extent to which district education offices adhere to Act 663; to identify the weakness associated with the practice and to propose recommendations for high level of compliance. The study adopted both qualitative and quantitative research approaches in data collection involving five selected districts in Ashanti region namely Ashanti Akim Central, Asante Akim South, Bosome-Freho, Ejisu-Juaben and Sekyere East. Relative Importance Index (RII) was used to analyze data collected. The study revealed low compliance level of 42.42 percent implying a huge compliance deficit of 57.58 percent. The study further identified contract management, lack of procurement units, lack of proper procurements plans, inadequate use of standard tender documents and high propensity to use sole sourcing method without recourse to Section 40 of Act 663 were identified as weaknesses areas. These weaknesses have negative implications in procurement management practices. It is therefore recommended that procurement units should be established in all the district education offices in Ghana, more importantly, these units should be provided someone with technical expertise in procurement. Similarly, under the auspices the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), refresher courses in procurement management should be organized for district education officers involved in procurement duties. The on-going review of the Act 663 should conspicuously spell out the composition of the Tender Committee at the district education offices. It is anticipated that if these suggestions are enforced, the current level of compliance of the Act 663(2003) would be improved in the district education offices

Growth and Yield Response of Carrot (Daucus Carota L) to Different Green Manures and Plant Spacing

A field experiment was carried out to study the growth and yield response of carrot to different green manures and plant spacing at the College of Agriculture Education, University of Education, Winneba-Mampong Campus in 2015 and 2016. Four different soil amendments (10 t/ha Mucuna pruriens, Chromolaena odorata, Gliricidia sepium, 300Kg/ha NPK (15, 15, 15) and control) along with three spacing regimes (25 x 10cm, 25 x 15cm and 25 x 20cm) were employed in the investigation in Randomized Complete Block Design. The result revealed that the application of 10 t/ha Mucuna pruriens, Chromolaena odorata, Gliricidia sepium and 300Kg/ha NPK (15, 15, 15) improved the vegetative growth of carrot and translocated the assimilates into the final gross and marketable yield of the root compared to the control. Among the spacing regimes, 25 x 20cm produced the best vegetative growth. Application of 300kg/ha NPK was found suitable for maximum gross and marketable yields (28.73 t/ha and 27.23 t/ha, respectively) in 2015. In 2016, Mucuna pruriens, Chromolaena odorata, and Gliricidia sepium treatments produced gross and marketable yields similar to 300kg/ha NPK. With the spacing regime, 25 x 10cm produced maximum gross and marketable yield in both years. The combined treatment effect of 300kg /ha NPK and 10 t /ha of Mucuna pruriens at 25 x 10cm spacing resulted in the best performance in terms of gross and marketable yields. From the production as well as economic points of view a combination 10t/ha Mucuna pruriens at 25 x 10cm spacing may be suggested for maximizing carrot production in the study area. Keywords: Mucuna pruriens, Chromolaena odorata, Gliricidia sepium, green manure, plant spacing, vegetative growth, gross and marketable yields

Securing sustainable and resilient food systems for The Gambia

Co-developing resilient food and land-use systems can help bridge the gap between demand for sustainable, healthy food and attainable food supply in The Gambia. The agricultural sector of The Gambia is predominantly rain-fed and vulnerable to climate impacts, significantly exposing the rural poor who heavily depend on it for their livelihoods to lagging productivity, food insecurity, poverty, malnutrition, and its health-related effects. The FACE-Africa project looked into these issues and co-developed scenarios relevant to The Gambia’s food security and sustainable land-use pathways with local and international stakeholders. The project team’s recommendations for ensuring sustainable food systems in the country include the following: - Achieving nutritional security is possible through policies that promote healthy and sustainable diets, such as the EAT-Lancet diet and the forthcoming Gambia-specific Food-Based Dietary Guidelines. Still, it requires a significant increase in either domestic agricultural production through improved yields, expanding agricultural land, or imports. - Policies that enable farmers to access and utilize fertilizer, reduce water stress, and adopt climate-smart agricultural practices will significantly improve crop yields and local production in The Gambia. - Investing in sustainable agricultural development through climate-smart and productivity-enhancing technologies will increase resilient agricultural production and reduce import dependency, while ensuring sustainable and healthy diets in The Gambia

Transient and persistent technical efficiency and its determinants: the case of crop farms in Austria

We analyse persistent and transient technical efficiency of crop farms in Austria from 2003 to 2017 by estimating the four-component stochastic frontier model using a multi-step procedure and extend it to account for heterogeneity bias by introducing the Mundlak adjustments. Moreover, we examine the determinants of both transient and persistent technical inefficiency. Results show that farms with favourable natural conditions, a higher share of family labour, and a lower share of owned land are more persistently efficient. Farm specialization, size, and farmers’ age are positively associated with transient efficiency, while subsidies have adverse impacts. Significant technological progress coupled with, on average decreasing technical efficiency indicates a diverging sector

Low Level of Transmitted HIV Drug Resistance at Two HIV Care Centres in Ghana: A Threshold Survey

Background: As access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) increases, the emergence and transmission of HIV drug resistant strains becomes a major problem. The World Health Organization (WHO) therefore recommends an initial minimum-resource method to signal when transmitted HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) requires action.Objective: This survey sought to generate information on the presence of HIV drug-resistant strains in the locality where Ghana’s ART for HIV was first introduced.Methods: The Ghana HIVDR threshold survey (TS) was conducted and analyzed according to WHO strategy for surveillance of HIVDR in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Sixty (60) plasma specimens were collected from 2007 to 2009 by an unlinked anonymous method from HIV seropositive pregnant women, aged between 15 to24 years, who were with their first pregnancy and ART naive. Genotyping was done as follows; Ribonucleic acid (RNA) was extracted from the samples and the protease (PR) and reverse transcriptase (RT) genes amplified and sequenced. The sequences were then analyzed for HIV drug resistance mutations using Stanford University HIV Drug Resistance Database.Results: Only two individuals were found with major HIVDR mutations: one each in the PR and RT genes. Thus the level of HIVDR in the study population in 2009 was classified as low (&lt; 5%).Conclusion: As at February 2009, transmitted drug resistance was not a serious problem in the Eastern Region of Ghana. However, it is important to continue monitoring tHIVDR in order to understand the dynamics of the evolution of HIV drug resistance in the country

Dose-dependent T-cell Dynamics and Cytokine Cascade Following rVSV-ZEBOV Immunization.

BACKGROUND: The recent West African Ebola epidemic led to accelerated efforts to test Ebola vaccine candidates. As part of the World Health Organisation-led VSV Ebola Consortium (VEBCON), we performed a phase I clinical trial investigating rVSV-ZEBOV (a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus-vectored Ebola vaccine), which has recently demonstrated protection from Ebola virus disease (EVD) in phase III clinical trials and is currently in advanced stages of licensing. So far, correlates of immune protection are incompletely understood and the role of cell-mediated immune responses has not been comprehensively investigated to date. METHODS: We recruited 30 healthy subjects aged 18-55 into an open-label, dose-escalation phase I trial testing three doses of rVSV-ZEBOV (3×105 plaque-forming units (PFU), 3×106 PFU, 2×107 PFU) (ClinicalTrials.gov; NCT02283099). Main study objectives were safety and immunogenicity, while exploratory objectives included lymphocyte dynamics, cell-mediated immunity and cytokine networks, which were assessed using flow cytometry, ELISpot and LUMINEX assay. FINDINGS: Immunization with rVSV-ZEBOV was well tolerated without serious vaccine-related adverse events. Ebola virus-specific neutralizing antibodies were induced in nearly all individuals. Additionally, vaccinees, particularly within the highest dose cohort, generated Ebola glycoprotein (GP)-specific T cells and initiated a cascade of signaling molecules following stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with Ebola GP peptides. INTERPRETATION: In addition to a benign safety and robust humoral immunogenicity profile, subjects immunized with 2×107 PFU elicited higher cellular immune responses and stronger interlocked cytokine networks compared to lower dose groups. To our knowledge these data represent the first detailed cell-mediated immuneprofile of a clinical trial testing rVSV-ZEBOV, which is of particular interest in light of its potential upcoming licensure as the first Ebola vaccine. VEBCON trial Hamburg, Germany (NCT02283099)

Access to vaccination services for priority ruminant livestock diseases in Ghana: barriers and determinants of service utilization by farmers

INTRODUCTION: Livestock diseases are a major constraint to agricultural productivity, frequently causing significant livelihood losses for farmers, and negatively affecting public food safety and security. Vaccines provide an effective and profitable means for controlling most infectious livestock diseases, but remain underutilized. This study sought to assess the barriers and determinants of vaccination utilization for priority livestock diseases in Ghana. METHODS: We conducted a mixed-method study involving a quantitative survey with ruminant livestock farmers (N = 350) and seven focus group discussions (FGD) involving 65 ruminant livestock farmers. The survey data were analyzed, and distribution of barriers to vaccination access described. We evaluated the determinants of vaccination utilization (any use of vaccination against contagious-bovine-pleuropneumonia (CBPP) and peste-des-petits-ruminants (PPR) in 2021) using logistic regression analyses at the 0.05 significance level. FGD transcripts were analyzed deductively. We used triangulation to achieve convergence across the different datasets and analyses. RESULTS: The farmers kept an average (median) of 5 tropical livestock units (TLUs) of ruminant livestock (IQR=2.6-12.0) that were on average 8 kilometers (IQR=1.9-12.4) away from veterinary officers (VOs). Only 16% (56/350) of herds were vaccinated against the diseases. Most farmers (274/350) had limited knowledge on vaccines against CBPP and PPR infections, 63% (222/350) perceived low risk of these diseases to their herds. About half of farmers reported experiencing outbreaks of either disease in the study year (2021). Farmers scored on average 80.5 out of 98 (IQR=74-85) on the RS-14 resilience scale. After adjusting for farmers' livestock rearing experience, herd size, sex, wealth status, distance to VOs, previous disease outbreaks, and perceived risk of the diseases, vaccination utilization was negatively associated with limited knowledge (aOR=0.19, 95%CI=0.08-0.43), and positively associated with personal exposure to outbreaks in the study year (aOR=5.26, 95%CI=2.01-13.7) and increasing resilience (aOR=1.13, 95%CI=1.07-1.19). FGDs revealed farmer misconceptions about vaccines, costs of vaccines, and timely access to vaccines from VOs as additional barriers. CONCLUSIONS: Acceptability, affordability, accessibility, and availability of vaccine services represent the main barriers to vaccines utilization by ruminant livestock farmers in Ghana. Given that limited knowledge regarding the value of vaccination and shortfalls in veterinary service supply are of central importance for both the demand and supply side, more collaboration between the different stakeholders in a transdisciplinary manner to effectively address the low vaccination utilization problem is needed

Rapid assessment methods for small farm storage surveys

Farm surveys are often the first step taken in identifying storage problems. As time and money for such work are generally scarce, it is important to be able to make the best use of them to get the information needed. This paper describes some of the specific techniques and experience developed by the Ghana MoFA/UK ODA Larger Grain Borer Project for rapid storage surveys on small-scale farms. It is argued that the following factors can critically contribute to producing more timely and relevant results: • formulation of specific survey objectives which focus on gathering data needed for decision-making. • use of a range of techniques to meet these objectives, including secondary data and key informants, informal surveys, case studies and participatory meetings. • avoidance of unwitting sampling bias, using rapid techniques such as transect village walks to select farmers, along with careful timing of field visits. • methods of sample analysis which can be used in the field, rather than the lab. Field analysis has many benefits including cost, speed, potential for increased sampling, and most importantly the greater participation of farmers and field staff in the analysis and interpretation of results. • use of rapid and flexible techniques of analysis and presentation, in particular mapping. Practical examples of each of these are given

Breast lesions and cancer: histopathology and molecular classification in a referral hospital in Ghana

Background: Histological diagnosis is crucial to the management of breast diseases. It determines the kind of disease, the treatment modalities, and the outcome of management. Our department receives breast biopsies from the northern sector of Ghana constituting over 50% of the Ghanaian population. This study aimed at elucidating the pattern of disease and associated traditional prognostic indices of breast cases in our department over a period of 9 years.Methods: Information on the demographic characteristics and the histological diagnoses made on all breast cases received and processed in the department were accessed and entered into an Excel spreadsheet. Slides were reviewed and IHC was done on suitable cases. Descriptive statistics were generated using IMB-SPSS version 23.Results: A total of 4276 breast cases were received by the department within the study period, with 97.6% being female. Age ranged (female/male) from 10 to 98/13 to 102 years, with mean ages of 38.2 years (SD ± 16.7) and 41.15 years (SD ± 21.6), respectively. Cases were evenly distributed in both left and right breasts and 4.3% were bilateral. Inflammatory conditions were seen in 7.5% of cases. The most diagnosed benign tumor was fibroadenoma (54%), followed by fibrocystic change (8.1%). Gynecomastia was diagnosed in 66.3% of males. Malignant cases were 38.6%, with invasive carcinoma NST being the most frequent (87.5%). Histological grades were I = 9.4%, II = 41.6%, and III = 49%. Molecular subtypes were luminal A (19.8%), luminal B (9.9%), Her2 (16%), and TNBC (54.3%).Conclusion: Our findings show an increase in breast cancer cases compared to previous studies in our center, suggesting increased awareness and improved diagnosis. However, this increase is consistent with most studies in sub-Saharan Africa