Disbudding effects on growth analysis of Celosia (Celosia cristata)

Experiments to investigate the effects of disbudding on growth analysis of two celosia cultivars, ‘Carmine’ and ‘Chief Gold’, were carried out on the field in 2009 and 2010 at the Sinna Garden of Department of Crop Science, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana. The treatments consisted of disbudding once, disbudding twice, and no disbudding, as control, and were arranged in a 3x2 split plot in a randomized complete block design with four replications in 2009 (experiment 1) and three in 2010 (experiment 2). The two cultivars were harvested weekly during the growing period and separated into the various plant parts and oven-dried for dry weights, using appropriate formulae to calculate the various growth parameters. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyse the data and a correlation coefficient matrix showed relationships among growth parameters. Disbudding resulted in increased leaf area index, leaf area ratio, leaf area duration, relative growth rate, and harvest index, but reduced crop growth rate and net assimilation rate. ‘Chief Gold’ had a higher harvest index than ‘Carmine’. Disbudding plants once gave the best flower head size and weight result. ‘Carmine’ gave the best flower yield and quality results in experiment 1 and ‘Chief Gold’ in experiment 2

Logistic analysis of factors and perception of smallholder rubber farmers to intercrop: a case study involving rubber and plantain intercropping system in Ghana

Even though rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) is a major tree crop and is lucrative for small holder' farmers in Ghana, the 6 years waiting period to maturity constraints its establishment. Intercropping of rubber with food crops has been found to be a solution to this production constraint in most rubber producing countries. The objective of this study was to empirically assess farmers' perception on rubber/plantain intercropping and factors that directly affect rubber farmers' decision to intercrop rubber plantations with plantain. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 200 rubber farmers from the Central and Western regions of Ghana. Both descriptive and logistic regression models were used to analyze the data. About 83% of the rubber farmers were males. Based on the logit model analysis, gender, level of education, household size, farm size, member of association and experience in rubber farming were found to have significant influence on the adoption of rubber/plantain intercrop. Respondents see the potential adoption of rubber/plantain intercropping system as a means to improve food security, farmers' income and livelihood. Non-governmental organizations, Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL) and Government should focus on strengthening its extension arm to develop more interpersonal contacts with potential rubber farmers. Policy makers, researchers and extension providers should closely work together with rubber farmers in identifying suitable rubber/plantain spacing and varieties on a case by case basis to ensure effective adoption and scaling out.Keywords: Food security, Ghana, GREL, Livelihood, Rubber and plantain intercroppin

Health insurance subscription among women in reproductive age in Ghana: do socio-demographics matter?

Background: Premised that health insurance schemes in Africa have only been introduced recently and continue evolving, various concerns have been raised regarding their effectiveness in improving utilisation of orthodox health care and the reduction of out-of-pocket expenditures for their population, particularly women. Objective: To examine the effects of socio-demographics on health insurance subscription among women in Ghana. Methods: The study draws on the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. Bivariate descriptive analysis and binary logistic regression were used to analyse the data. Results: Wealth status, age, religion, birth parity, marriage and ecological zone were found to have significantly predicted health insurance subscription among women in reproductive age in Ghana. Urban dwellers, women who are nulliparous, those with no or low levels of education, African traditionalists and the poor were those who largely did not subscribe to the scheme. Conclusion: The findings underscore the need for the National Health Insurance Authority to carry out more education in association with the National Commission for Civic Education and the Information Services Department to recruit more urban dwellers, nulliparous women, those with no or low levels of education, African traditionalists and the poor unto the scheme

Competition in the banking industry: Empirical evidence from Ghana

Ghana’s banking industry has undergone considerable transformation since 1988 as a result of the gradual but steady implementation of financial service reforms. The main purpose of implementing the financial reforms is to build a competitive and stable banking industry to enhance banks’ efficiency and ultimately economic growth and development. Using annual (panel) data spanning from 2001 to 2010, this study investigates the degree of bank competition and their determinants in Ghana’s banking indusrty using the fixed-effect model and two-step system GMM estimations. The results suggest that Ghana’s banking industry is competitively weak. The findings also indicate that market power persistently exists in Ghana’s banking industry. Furthermore, bank capitalization reduces bank market power and therefore increases bank competition in Ghana. However, there is no indication that bank size, fee income, loan loss provision ratio and rate of inflation have influence on bank competition in Ghana