Gender and Access to Agricultural Resources by Smallholder Farmers in the Upper West Region of Ghana

Men and women continue to have differential access to agricultural resources despite the seemingly equal roles they play in agriculture in many developing countries. The study sought to determine the relationship between gender and access to agricultural resources in the Upper West Region of Ghana. Simple random sampling technique was employed to select 400 farmers disaggregated into men and women from four districts in the region. Statistically significant differences were observed between gender and access to land, labour, inputs and radio, extension agents and input suppliers (p<0.05) while there was no significant difference between gender and access to credit (p>0.05) even though women also have more access to credit than men. It has been recommended that more aspects of the culture of the people be improved to pave way for more access to agricultural land in particular. Levels of credit support are very low in the region and financial institutions need to reduce some of the bottlenecks to allow easy access to credit. Also extension agents should endeavour to educate smallholders on how to access information through electronic platforms and also make them seek more information from input suppliers as the current situation demands. Key words: Gender, Inputs, Credit, ICT

Poultry manure effect on growth and yield of maize

The effect of poultry manure application on maize (Zea mays) growth and yields was studied on a Ferric Acrisol in the semi-deciduous rain forest zone of Ghana. Eight treatments of 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 tons of poultry manure (pm) per hectare, 60-40-40 kg NPK/ha, 2 × 2 t pm/ha and 2 t pm + 30-20-20 kg NPK/ha were used in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with five replications. The study showed that poultry manure is a valuable fertilizer and can serve as a suitable alternative to chemical fertilizer in the forest zone of Ghana. Poultry manure treatments produced higher values for height, leaf area index and biomass. The 4 t pm/ha rate produced maize grain yield of 2.07 t/ha which was statistically not different from that of the chemical fertilizer rate (2.29 t/ha) and 6 t pm/ha (2.60 t/ha), while the 6 t pm/ha was not statistically different from the 8 t pm/ha rate. Split application of 4 t pm/ha (i.e. 2 × 2 t pm/ha) and 2 t pm/ha + 30-20-20 kg NPK/ha gave similar biomass and grain yields as the 4 t pm/ha. Poultry manure application registered over 53% increases of N levels in the soil, from 0.09% to 0.14%. Exchangeable cations increased with manure application. The study recommends an application rate of 4 t pm/ha for maize on this type of soil in this agro-ecolog

Nitrogen use efficiency of poultry manure by maize

Nitrogen use efficiency is a measure of the extent to which a crop transforms available N to economic yield. Poultry manure is often reported to have lower N use efficiency than mineral fertilizer in the first year of application. However, under certain conditions such as rate of application, N mineralization rate, type of soil and crop, the converse may be the case. Will a farmer be better off in applying poultry manure at a particular rate than mineral fertilizer? A study was conducted on a forest acrisol to determine the physiological and apparent N efficiencies of poultry manure (PM) applied at various rates and mineral fertilizer to maize. Poultry manure rates of 2, 4, 6, 8 and 2 x 2 t ha-1 (i.e. split application) showed higher physiological N use efficiencies than the mineral fertilizer rate of 60-40-40 kg NPK ha-1 and 2 t PM ha-1 + 30-20-20 kg NPK ha-1. However, the mineral fertilizers (including combined half rate plus 2 t poultry manure) had the highest apparent N use efficiencies of 58% and 40% respectively, but low physiological N use efficiency. Among the poultry manure treatments, 4 t ha-1 with the highest N content of 2.17% in the maize ear leaves and grain N content of 12.56 g kg-1, had the highest physiological N use efficiency of 60 kg ha-1 making it the most efficient rate in the transformation of N into grain yield. Journal of Science and Technology (Ghana) Vol. 27 (2) 2007: pp. 71-7

A review of hot-melt extrusion: process technology to pharmaceutical products [Review article]

Over the last three decades industrial adaptability has allowed hot-melt extrusion (HME) to gain wide acceptance and has already established its place in the broad spectrum of manufacturing operations and pharmaceutical research developments. HME has already been demonstrated as a robust, novel technique to make solid dispersions in order to provide time controlled, modified, extended, and targeted drug delivery resulting in improved bioavailability as well as taste masking of bitter active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). This paper reviews the innumerable benefits of HME, based on a holistic perspective of the equipment, processing technologies to the materials, novel formulation design and developments, and its varied applications in oral drug delivery systems

Variations in the level of resistance to root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) infestation among ten cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) genotypes

The cultivation of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) cultivars that are tolerant to root-knot nematode attack is among the environmentally safe approach to managing the root-knot nematode menace in cultivated crops. In this study, the tolerance of 10 cowpea genotypes to root-knot nematodes infestation was evaluated in a pot experiment conducted in a Screenhouse, at the University for Development Studies, Nyankpala Campus. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design with three replications. The number of second stage juveniles (J2) per 250 cm3 of soil sample were counted while the severity of root-knot nematode damage (root galls) was assessed. The reproduction index (RI) was used to classify the varieties as resistant or susceptible. There was a significant difference (P < 0.05) in the number of second stage juveniles of root-knot nematode (RKN), galling index and RI among the genotypes tested. The study revealed that cowpea genotypes SARI 1-4-90, Padi tuya, Songotra, IT99K-1122, Sanzi and Apagbaala were moderately resistant whereas cowpea genotypes IT86D-610, Zaayura, SARI 5-5-5 and IT07K-299-6 were slightly resistant. Thus, the six moderately resistant cowpea genotypes were suggested to be used as a source of resistance to RKN in future breeding works

Influence of Cowpea Lines As Green Manure on Growth and Yield of Carrots in Root-Knot Nematode Infested Soil

An experiment was conducted at the University of Education, Winneba, Mampong-Ashanti campus to determine the effect of some cowpea lines as green manure on the growth and yield of carrot in root-knot nematode infested soil.  Randomized complete block design with five treatments and four replications was used. The treatments were cowpea lines IT97K-570-18; IT97K-566-18; and IT00K-1150 as green manure, N.P.K (15, 15, 15) and control.  The results showed negative correlation between root-knot nematode infestation and growth and yield parameters of carrot. The various cowpea green manure treatments and NPK (15, 15, 15) fertilizer significantly (p<0.05) improved the vegetative growth of carrot plants. Carrots from plots incorporated with cowpea line IT97K-570-18 produced significantly higher root yield than the control. Root-knot nematode infestation on carrot was lowest from plots incorporated with line IT97K-570-18. For all the parameters studied, carrot plants produced from plots incorporated with line IT97K-570-18 green manure gave the best results with respect to growth and yield. It also reduced the severity of galling. The results suggest that line IT97K-570-18 can be a better alternative to NPK (15, 15, 15) for increased carrot yield and root-knot nematode control on the Bediese Soil Series of Ghana. Key Words: Cowpea, Green manure, Carrot, Root Knot Nematodes and UEW

Influence of improved technology adoption on livelihoods of small ruminant farmers in Ghana

The study was conducted with the objective of finding how the adoption of small ruminant technologies affected the livelihood outcomes of small ruminant farmers in Ghana. Data collected using questionnaires which were triangulated with focus group discussions. A sample size of 180 small ruminant farmers comprising 141 men and 39 women was used. Socio-economic factors such as sex, age and contact with extension agents were observed to have significant effects on adoption. Also, a significant relationship was found between adoption and incomes, ability to afford school fees, payment of utility bills and access to veterinary drugs. There was also a significant relationship between adoption and food security and group membership. Adoption of improved technologies had influenced most of the livelihood outcomes of the farmers. It is recommended that extension officers continue to intensify education on the improved technologies so that more results can be obtained on livelihoods of the farmers