The 2020 Maize Production Failure in Ghana: A Case Study of Ejura-Sekyedumase Municipality

This paper examines the causes of widespread maize production failure in Ghana during the 2020 minor growing season. A mixed-methods approach was used to study smallholder maize farmers in the Ejura-Sekyedumase Municipality to provide a holistic understanding of the factors behind the maize production failure and to inform policy interventions. The results show that the decline in maize grain yield was caused by the failure of the minor season rains and, more importantly, the destruction of maize plants by fall armyworms. Other factors including poor soils and inadequate farm inputs contributed minimally to the observed maize failures. The agronomic practices adopted by the farmers to mitigate crop failures were undermined by their inability to master the onset and cessation of rainfall, the ineffectiveness of pesticides to control the fall armyworms and financial challenges. It is recommended that the government promotes and supports rainwater harvesting to address the impacts of drought and pests on food crop production. Furthermore, to ensure sustainable food production, a combination of indigenous knowledge and scientific farm practices are crucial to accurately forecast the weather and to control the fall armyworms

Indicator-based assessment of the liveability of communities in the Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana: A transdisciplinary approach

Local knowledge of spatiotemporal patterns of liveability is vital for choosing where to live and where revitalisation efforts must concentrate. We employed transdisciplinary learning to identify 12 liveability indicators and applied them to assess the liveability of 81 communities of Accra, Ghana. The results show that crime and rent are the top two most important liveability indicators. The least three indicators are the availability of jobs, entertainment, and flood susceptibility. Out of 81 communities grouped into five quantiles, ten fell in the 1st quantile (most liveable), 24 communities were in the 2nd quantile, 3rd had 24, 4th 17, and 5th nine communities respectively as least liveable. 1st quantile communities are mainly high-income communities, whiles 5th quantile communities are mainly middle-income communities that have become commercial areas. Not surprisingly, high-income communities like the Airport residential area, East Legon, and Dzorwolu all fall into the 2nd quantile as all these communities are gradually turning into mixed commercial and residential places. The study indicates that low-income communities lack social amenities and resources, which can be attributed to a lack of state social intervention policies. This may mean local administration systems (district assemblies) failing as Ghana's development agents