235 research outputs found
Caperton\u27s Next Generation: Beyond the Bank
The article looks at a panel discussion on judicial responsibility and the U.S. Supreme Court\u27s decision in \u27Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co.\u27 discussed by several law professionals including Jed Shugerman, Debra Lyn Bassett and Dmitry Bam at a 2014 symposium held in the New York University
Flow Injection Manifolds with Membrane Filters for Pre-concentration and Interference Removal by Precipitation Flow Injection Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry
Weather-index based crop insurance as a social adaptation to climate change and variability in the Upper West Region of Ghana: Developing a participatory approach
Climate change and variability are major challenges to rain-fed crop production in Africa.
This paper presents a report on a pilot project to test a concept for operationalizing weatherindex
crop insurance as a social adaptation to the climate change and variability problem in
the Upper West Region of Ghana. An analysis of long-term weather variables showed rising
temperature of 1.7 oC over a period of 53 years as well as major shifts in rainfall patterns.
Farmers face a new reality that cannot be addressed with their indigenous knowledge alone.
The weather-index based crop insurance concept discussed herein was developed by
combined effort of University of Ghana, the German International Cooperation (GIZ) and the
Ghana National Insurance Commission (NIC) since 2010. This development was carried out
via their filial, the Ghana Agricultural Insurance Pool (GAIP). The proposed concept sought
to link various agricultural stakeholders such weather technical persons, farmers, agricultural
extension officer, input dealers and other aggregators, and financial institutions as well as the
insurance industry and focused on a participatory farmer led approach. The piloting of the
concept was supported by the Climate Change and Food Security (CCAFs) project and was
tested in the years 2012 and 2013 using a theatrical drama sketch in two districts in the Upper
West Region of Ghana: Jirapa and Lawra. It was observed that training of farmers in the basic
principles of weather (data collection, interpretation, etc.) facilitated the discussions on
drought insurance, adding to the body of evidence supporting participatory design tools.
The aim of this paper is to record this process and to put the results into recent context,
through discussing them through the lens of insurance operations and research in Ghana.
Ensuing discussions showed that although all stakeholders considered the participatory design
tools to be meritorious, a number of logistical challenges were identified that need to be
addressed for effective scaling. The study also highlighted the high spatial variability of
rainfall in the Upper West region of Ghana, showing the necessity of satellite-derived rainfall
products. Finally, the framework suggested in this report highlights the complexity and the
institutional structures required to implement an effective insurance. In effect, our simple
study has exposed the complexities and intricacies that must be overcome in establishing a
sustainable insurance scheme in Ghana
Effects of cowpea fortification and the level of ripeness of plantain on the nutritive value of plantain based snack foods
To investigate effects of cowpea addition and level of ripeness of plantain on the nutritional and sensory characteristics of Kaklo and Ofam in Ghana, A 2X4 factorial experiment with firm and soft ripe plantain and cowpea fortification of 0, 10, 20 and 30% was designed. The proximate composition and acceptability of products using a 7-point hedonic scale were evaluated. With the addition of 30% cowpea, the protein content of the Kaklo from the firm ripe and soft ripe plantain increased from 2.92% to 7.32% and 3.65% to 8.05% respectively, whilst the protein of the Ofam from the firm and soft ripe plantain also increased from 3.80% to 8.45% and 3.75% to 8.15% respectively. The 10% fortified Kaklo and Ofam werethe most acceptable. The cowpea addition significantly affected the nutritional value of the Kaklo and Ofam. To obtain an acceptable cowpea fortified plantain-based snack, the fortification should be done at10%
Integrating farmers' knowledge, attitude and practice in the development of sustainable Striga control interventions in southern Mali
Technologies for Striga control have not been widely adopted because of the mis-match between technologies and
farmers' socio- economic conditions. This study uses a participatory rural appraisal technique at the village,
household and plot levels to diagnose the extent of the Striga problem in two agro- ecological zones in southern
Mali. It has led to the understanding of farmers' attitudes and constraints to Striga control, and opportunities for the
development of sustainable technologies suitable for a wide range of farming conditions. Results show that the
degree of Striga infestation, levels of farmer knowledge and control practices vary substantially across village
territories and fields, and that the severity of the infestation is clearly linked with soil fertility condition and farming
practices. It was concluded that in general, the Striga control interventions that would most likely appeal to farmers
would be those that will simultaneously improve soil fertility and suppress the development of Striga
Farmers’ perceptions and attitudes towards introduced soil-fertility enhancing technologies in western Africa
Soil fertility enhancing technologies (SFETs) have been promoted in the West African Semi-Arid Tropics
(WASAT) for many years with limited success. Using a qualitative approach of focus group discussions, long, openended
interviews and observations from field visits, this paper explores with farmers their beliefs and rationales
behind the adoption or non-adoption of SFETs. Farmers are knowledgeable about, and practise SFETs of rock
phosphate application, crop residue and farm yard manure, chemical fertilizer and crop rotation to combat soil
fertility decline. Their attitudes to and rationales behind adoption decisions are influenced by the availability
and use policies of land and labour resources, food security concerns, perceived profitability, contribution to
sustainability and access to information. Some of the factors are beyond farmers’ control and require a broad
and integrated effort from research, extension and government to promote the use of the SFETs in the region
Risk factors for surgical site infections in abdominal surgeries in Ghana:Emphasis on the impact of operating rooms door openings
Volatile compounds of maari, a fermented product from baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) seeds
The volatile compounds associated with baobab seeds fermentation for Maari production were extracted and analysed by Likens-Nickerson simultaneous steam distillation-extraction method and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), respectively. Furthermore, the titratable acidity, tannin content and proximate composition were evaluated. A total of 96 compounds were identified with esters, acids, alcohols and ketones being quantitatively the major groups. Fermentation led to an increase in the concentration of total volatile compounds from 121.6 in unfermented cooked seeds to 809.1 mg kg-1 in the fermented product. Drying resulted in a significant loss of up to 80.7% of the total volatiles.Key words: Volatile compounds, maari, baobab, fermentation
Impact of Germplasm Research Spillovers: The Case of Sorghum Variety S 35 in Cameroon and Chad
An important objective of international agricultural research inst i tut ions is to determine the
extent to which research under taken in one location may impact on other regions of interest.
Thi s is because research activities are most often planned to target mandate crops and
agroecological areas found in many parts of the world. ICRI S A T has, as a pol icy, disributed
a wide range of parental materials to breeding programs in the NARS and private seed
industries throughout the semi-arid tropics. This has cont r ibuted to faster and cost-effective
development of useful final products by the receiving parties.
Thi s study evaluates the impacts and research spillover effects of adopt ion of sorghum variety
S 35, a pure line developed f rom the ICRI S A T breeding program in India. It was later
advanced in Niger ia and promoted and released in Cameroon in 1986 and Chad in 1989.
Today, S 35 occupies about 33% of the total rainfed sorghum area in Cameroon and 2 7 % in
Chad. Compared to farmers' best t radi t ional varieties across all study sites in Cameroon and
Chad, S 35 yields 2 7 % more output (grain) and reduces uni t product ion cost by 20%.These
farm-level impacts are larger in Chad where yield gain is 5 1 % higher and cost reduct ion is
3 3% higher. Th e net present value of benefits f rom S 35 research spillover in the Af r ican
region was estimated to be US 4.6 mi l l ion in Cameroon,
representing internal rates of return of 9 5% in Chad and 7 5% in Cameroon. These impacts
were evaluated f rom the perspective of nat ional research systems. A conscious decision,
therefore, was made to include only those costs associated wi t h nat ional research and
extension inst i tut ions. Al l other S 35-related research and development expenditures
incur red in India and Niger ia were treated as 'sunk costs', that is, costs which woul d have
occur red anyway wi thout spillover. Ha d each count ry had to develop S 35 and associated
management practices on its own, the t ime lag between research and release of the
technology woul d have been longer and consequently impacts, if any, woul d have been
smaller. For greater effectiveness in sorghum technology development and transfer in the
region, future research and pol icy actions should take greater advantage of research spillovers
through more col laborat ion, communicat ion, and networking between nat ional , regional ,
and internat ional research inst i tut ions
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