Evaluation of the productivity of crossbred dairy cattle on smallholder and government farms in the Republic of Malawi

Reports the results of a study conducted to compare the important reproductive and productive traits of crossbred dairy cattle on smallholder farms and at multiplication and research cnetres at Malawi, to measure the influence of environment on dairy production traits, to assess the suitability of various crosses to the different agricultural areas, and to determine the trends in dairy production over the years

Productivity and profitability of cattle stall-fed for beef on smallholder farms in Malawi

Presents the results of biological and financial analyses performed on the productivity and profitability of cattle stall-fed for beef on smallholder farms in Malawi

The Ghana Highway Code as a Teaching and Learning Material

The Ghana Highway Code is the official state-recognised traffic teaching and learning ma­terial widely used in traffic schools and by motorists in Ghana. Ghana changed its traffic from left-hand to right-hand drive in 1974; the Code was subsequently published to, besides other reasons, guide road users to be reconditioned to a fresh standard of behaviour. However, 46 years after its publication, the content of the Code has been outgrown by new developments in the road environment and traffic systems, rendering the Code ineffective. Content analysis was used to ascertain the validity and reliability of the Code. Out of 95 mo­torists interviewed, 91.5% indicated they use or had ever used the Code, while 3.2% had not used it before and 5.3% did not know about it at all. Hundred percent of driving schools used the Code as teaching and learning material. It was concluded that the Code was an obsolete teaching and learning material. The implication was that, the wide user population of the Code had an adverse impact on learners. It was recommended that the Code be revised and republished as new edition

Anti-trypanosomal antibodies in sequentially collected sera of N'Dama cattle under natural trypanosomiasis risk in The Gambia

Investigates the time of appearance and the persistence of antibodies in N'Dama cattle bitten by infected tsetse flies under controlled conditions, the serology of village animals exposed to natural trypanosomiasis risk and the time of appearance and duration of anti-trypanosomal antibodies through the monthly collection of serum samples from calves following birth

The Emergence of Gated Communities in Ghana and their Implications on Urban Planning and Management

Over the past few decades, gated communities have emerged as global commodity increasingly gaining patronage. In Sub-Sahara Africa, the city of Accra is fast recording the emergence of these communities. The research therefore examined the implications of the rising phenomenon in urban planning and management. By adopting a mixture of snow ball, simple random and purposive sampling and a face to face interview technique, the research accessed empirical data from planning institutions and households selected from three gated communities in the capital city of Accra. It was found that, gated communities in the capital have relatively good infrastructural facilities and services, the provision of which the real estate developers played a major role. However, a spatial policy gap on gated communities was identified in addition to missing legislative framework and low level of awareness on the part of planning institutions regarding the existence of some gated communities in the capital. In ensuring effective planning and management of gated communities in the urban arena as well as situating their occurrence within a broader spatial and socio-economic development of the country, the research concludes that, formulation of spatial policy and legislative framework and strengthening of planning institutions are requisite. Keywords: gated communities, urban planning, urban managemen

Agronomic potential of “Dodzi”, an extra early-maturing maize cultivar

Production of short-cycle crop varieties reduces the risk of crop loss due to terminal droughts and ensures early harvest to fill the hunger gap. Two experiments were used to determine the yield potentials of elite extra-early (75- 80 days) maturing maize (Zea mays L.) varieties to recommend the best extra-early variety for commercial productionand use in Ghana. In the first experiment, two extra-early and eight early (90-95 days) maize varieties were evaluated in replicated field trials at 10 research stations in 1995 and 1996. In the second experiment, thetwo extra-early varieties, one recommended early variety, and the farmers’ check variety were evaluated at 38 and 28 farm sites in 1995 and 1996, respectively. Mean grain yields across the 10 on-station sites in 2 years were 3.5, 4.1, 4.6, and 3.4 t ha-1 for NAES EE W-SR (extraearly), NAES Pool 16 DT (extra-early), Dorke SR (early), and the farmers’ check variety, respectively. Mean yields of the four varieties across 66 farm sites in both years were 3.2, 3.4, 3.4, and 3.6 t ha-1, respectively. NAES EE W-SR was the earliest of all the varieties tested and the farmers’ variety was latest. Food preference tests showed that NAES EE W-SR was comparable to the farmers’ check variety in suitability for local dish preparations. The National Variety Release Committee subsequently approved and released NAES EE W-SR under the local name “Dodzi”. “Dodzi” is recommended for early planting and harvesting throughout Ghana

Review on Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum, L.) Improvement Programmes in Ghana

Tomato is an important component of every Ghanaian meal, and its cultivation contributes significantly to livelihood improvement. The demand for tomato in Ghana outstrips supply, and therefore local production is augmented by imports from neighbouring countries. Despite the importance of tomato in Ghana, past tomato-breeding programmes have been unsystematic and had not led to the development of new varieties that meet the needs of consumers as well as environmental stresses. This review outlined tomato production trends, constraints and past tomato improvement programmes in Ghana, which mainly focused on germplasm collection, morphological and agronomic characterization, molecular evaluation, diversity study, as well as screening germplasm against biotic and abiotic stresses. The established variability and the outcomes of the evaluations against the various biotic and abiotic stresses have not been utilized in the development of new varieties. This work will serve as a reference for developing future tomato-breeding programmes