The Challenges and Prospects of the Poultry Industry in Dormaa District

The poultry industry is perceived to be a major contributor to Ghana’s development through employment creation and the enhancement of nutrition and food security. In spite of these contributions, the poultry industry is entangled with a number of problems that necessitate redress. The purpose of the study was to determine how activities within the poultry industry are operationalised, examine the prospects and challenges that confront the industry and make recommendations to inform policy. For the survey, 45 poultry farms and 10 major dealers of poultry inputs within the Dormaa District were randomly selected. Primary data were obtained  through questionnaire administration, semi-structured interviews and observations. Secondary data on poultry farming were also obtained from the District Veterinary Services Division, the District Assembly and the Poultry Farmers’ Association. The survey revealed that the major challenges encountered by the poultry farmers included; financing, diseases and absence of electricity for operations in most farms (84.4%). The presence of feed processing mills, poultry input shops and availability of organised markets served as prospects that could be harnessed to boost the growth of the poultry industry in the district.Keywords: Poultry industry, Financing, Marketing

Rainstorm Intensity–Duration–Frequency Model for Tarkwa, Ghana

Rainstorm intensity–duration–frequency relationship is a tool required for appropriate planning and designing of drainage systems. In this study, 22 years of annual peak daily rainstorm data distribution was tested to verify if it followed Lognormal, Gumbel, or Log Pearson Type III distribution. The distribution to which it belonged was used to build rainstorm intensity model of 0.5, 2, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, and 24 h durations. The findings revealed that the observed peak annual rainstorm followed Gumbel and Log Pearson Type III distributions at 0.05 significant level. Sherman rainstorm intensity model was also adopted and the parameters determined. Data generated with the Gumbel distribution function best fitted the Sherman model followed by those by log Pearson Type III. The rainstorm models developed with Sherman’s equation were recommended for use in the Tarkwa area. Keywords: Flood, Gumbel Distribution, Water Resources, Rainstor

Estimation of storm runoff loads based on rainfall-related variables and power law models – Case study in Alexandra

This paper compares the use of simple regression equations of three commonly used pollutant build-up and wash-off functions, namely linear, power and exponential functions, to estimate event pollutant loads. The comparative study indicated that, event loads are better estimated as power functions of storm-related independent variables. On the notion that rainfall data are more readily available, easy and less expensive to collect than runoff data, the calibrated model was verified using rainfall volume as independent variable. The verified model was then used to develop load-duration-intensity curves to serve as predictive tools. Planners and engineers can use these predictive tools to obtain an approximate estimate of event pollutant loads in storm runoff from Alexandra (and also other townships with similar physical, land-use, climatic and hydraulic characteristics and water quality issues) for the purpose of managing or improving drainage conditions in the township. Water SA Vol.32 (2) 2006: pp.1-

Genetic Diversity of Wild Rice (Oryza longistaminata) in Ghana

Oryza longistaminata is a wild rice taxon and an excellent source of genetic variation that remains largely unexploited. This study was conducted to understand the genetic diversity between and within O. longistaminata populations, collected from different geographic locations in Ghana. In this study, SSR markers were used to determine the intra-specific variability in O. longistaminata, and how the variation is partitioned within and between different populations. Analysis of molecular variance revealed high levels of polymorphism (95.9%) within the populations. The overall genetic diversity for all the loci in the six populations was high (Shannon's Information Index I = 0.579, Nei's unbiased expected heterozygosity, He = 0.405). Hierarchical partitioning also indicated a high genetic diversity between and within populations, with some level of relatedness between samples taken from the Savannah agroecological area. The high genetic diversity observed in this study offer a great opportunity for screening useful traits among the populations of O. longistaminata in Ghana for rice breeding programs

Rodents and Herpetofauna (Reptiles and Amphibians) as household pests in the Accra Metropolis, Ghana

Small mammals and herpetofaunal household pests, known for their economic damages, health implications and nuisance effects on people, are frequently seen in the Ghanaian home environment. The study was aimed at assessing the relationship between the level of infrastructural development and the abundance, control methods and perception ofpeople about rodents and herpetofaunal household pests. The results indicated that the incidence of rodents and anurans decreased with increasing infrastructural development of an area, while the occurrence of wall geckos and agama lizards was independent of the level of infrastructural development of the areas. The use of control measures, as well as the type of control measure employed, was also dependent on infrastructural development with the underdeveloped areas employing more physical and sanitary measures on daily basis, contrary to weakly and monthly bases in the developed and developing areas. Chemical control was mostly used in the developing areas while biological controlwas the main vertebrate pest control method in the developed areas. The level of infrastructural development of an area, therefore, gives an indication of the kind of herpetofaunal and small mammal pests likely to be prevalent in an area, and the consequences of their infestation. This information is particularly important in the choice of accommodation forrental purposes as well as town planning

Evaluation of Groundwater Suitability for Irrigation in the Lambussie-Karni District of Ghana

The populace of the Lambussie-Karni District are mainly farmers who have resorted to the use of groundwater for irrigation during the dry season because of long drought and inadequate surface water bodies. The temporal variation of the groundwater quality for irrigation in the District was assessed using sixteen boreholes. Richard Plot indicates that groundwater in the study area is within the low salinity to low sodium hazard and medium salinity to low sodium hazard class. Wilcox Plot shows groundwater to be within excellent to good class in the catchment. Irrigation water quality index (IWQI) map was also developed to determine precisely the degree and areal extent of groundwater suitability for irrigation. ArcGIS 10.1 was used to generate thematic maps for sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), permeability index (PI), sodium percentage (Na %), HCO3-, pH and electrical conductivity. The results were compared to Food and Agricultural Organisations (FAO) standard guidelines. An IQWI map for the Lambussie- Karni District shows that groundwater is generally suitable for irrigation, about 24.57 % of the district will require crops which can tolerate high amount of salts. A percentage (39.82 %) of the catchment has groundwater, which is highly suitable for crops which are least resistant to salt. Keywords: Groundwater Suitability; Irrigation Water Quality; SAR; IWQI Map; Lambussie-Karni Distric

Sensory and Physicochemical Characteristics of Naturally Flavoured Borassus aethiopum Syrups for Potential Applications in Food Products

The study explored the possibility of using sap from the fruit pulp of Borassus aethiopum in developing a fruit syrup with acceptable sensory, nutritional and physicochemical properties for technological application in food products. B. aethiopum syrup with its original flavour was developed alongside 2 other B. aethiopum syrup products infused with the flavouring agents- ginger and tamarind. Although sensory evaluation of the three syrup products by 98 untrained panelist showed non-significant difference (P>0.05), they were all rated highly. The flavoured products were rated slightly higher than the unflavoured syrup for all sensory attributes. Proximate and physicochemial analysis of the highly rated B. aethiopum syrup product obtained through sensory evaluation indicated that the syrup has a protein content of 1.17, fat content of 4.67, carbohydrate content of 72.93, ash content of 2.19, moisture content of 17.71, pH of 4.56 and titratable acidity of 0.87. This suggests that underutilized tropical fruits from B. aethiopum can be used for the manufacture of syrups to impart desirable natural sweetness, flavours and colours to food products. Keywords: Borassus aethiopum, syrup, sensory, physicochemica

Compensatory and susceptive responses of cowpea genotypes to infestation by aphis Craccivora koch.

The aim of the study was to estimate yield loss to10 selected genotypes of cowpea as a result of Aphis craccivora infestation during the vegetative phase of the crop. There were two trials with four replications. The first trial serving as the control was sprayed at the seedling, flowering andpodding stages against insect pests with lambda cyhalothrin (PAWA®). The other trial was sprayed only at flowering and podding stages. The cowpea seedlings of the second trial were infested with five four-day-old aphids per seedling two weeks after planting. The aphids were allowed to form colonies and fed on the seedlings until symptoms of damage were observed. When the susceptible seedlings became stunted with distorted leaves and yellowing of leaves at two weeks after infestation (28 days after planting), aphids were controlled. The results showed that aphids’ infestation delayed flowering and maturity of genotypes of cowpea. With the exception of early flowering genotypes all the medium to late flowering genotypes produced higher dry grain yield in infested plots than the control plots. The trend was not different from the production of dry biomass. The results of the present study implies that control of aphids infestation inearly maturing cowpea genotypes should not be delayed up to two weeks after infestation or 28 days after planting. Aphid’s infestation period for studies in susceptive response in medium to late maturing genotypes should go beyond 28 days after planting probably up to 35 days afterplanting

Determinants of enrollment in the NHIS for women in Ghana

Background The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was introduced in 2005 to provide equitable access to healthcare. Furthermore, concessions were made for pregnant women, yet inequities in access continue to exist. This study explores whether dimensions of social exclusion explain why some groups of women are not benefitting from the scheme. Methods Data was collected from 4050 representative households in five districts. Logistic regression is used to examine the factors that determine enrolment of women under the NHIS. Results The study sample consists of a sub-sample of 3,173 women out of whom 58% were insured. The majority (64.9%) of the women were in the reproductive age (15-45 years). The results show that wealth status, age, health status, locality, perception about the quality of care at health facilities and perception of the NHIS, are the key factors that determine enrolment into the scheme. Conclusion With women dominating the informal sector of Ghana’s economy which is often characterised by relatively low incomes, these inequities in access need to be addressed