Effect of input credit on smallholder farmers’ output and income: Evidence from Northern Ghana

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of input credit on smallholder farmers’ output and income using Masara N’Arziki support project in Northern Ghana. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional primary data set was used to estimate the effect of project participation on farm output, yield and income using propensity score matching (PSM) methods. Findings The findings are that project participation is skewed towards experienced farmers with big-sized households and farms. The effect of project on outcomes is somewhat unsatisfactory in the sense that participation only raises output and yield, but not income. Research limitations/implications The paper only examined the project effect on farm outcomes among smallholder farmers participating in the programme in just one operational area in the Northern region. Future research should consider all the operational areas for an informed generalisation of findings. Practical implications Greater benefits to farmers from programme participation would require project management to review the contractual arrangement so that the high cost of input credit is significantly reduced. Originality/value The paper applied the PSM to estimate the effect of project participation on farm output, yield and income among smallholder farmers which is non-existent in the literature on the study area, at least as far as we know. This paper can inform future policy on the direction and nature of support for smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana

Using Weighted Goal Programming Model for Planning Regional Sustainable Development to Optimal Workforce Allocation:An Application for Provinces of Iran

Due to the urbanization and economic growth, planning of regional sustainable development has become one of the major challenges in the world. The key indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP), electricity and energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission (GHG) are considered in sustainable development planning. This paper determines number of required workforce in diferent sectors of each province in Iran considering targets/goals for sustainable development indicators in the 2030 macroeconomic and regional planning. First, the relative goals are designed for GDP, electricity, energy and GHG emission and then, two weighted goal programming models are applied to allocate the optimal workforce among four sectors: agriculture, industry, services and transportation. The frst model minimizes recruitment of new workforce and allows current workforce exchange among the four sectors in each province in order to achieve the goals, while the second model indicates equitable distribution of new workforce recruitment in diferent sectors within each province. In both models, the workforce changes have been investigated based on achieving the desirable growth rates of GDP, GHG, electricity and energy consumption as planned by the government. Based on the results of this paper, policy makers can manage workforce and the government can make optimized decisions to macroeconomic and regional planning

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Genotype x environment interactions of yield of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) inbred lines in the Guinea and Sudan Savanna ecologies of Ghana

Published online: 08 Jun 2020The variable cowpea productivity across different environments demands evaluating the performance of genotypes in a breeding program prior to their release. The aim of this study was to assess yield stability of eight cowpea advanced breeding lines selected from participatory varietal selection in multilocational trials, and to identify mega-environments for cowpea production in Ghana. The genotypes were evaluated across five environments in 2016 and 2017 in randomized complete block design with three replications. The GEA-R version 4.0 software was used for genotype main effect plus genotype by environment interaction (GGE) biplot analyses. Analysis of variance (PROC GLM of SAS using a RANDOM statement with the TEST option) detected significant variations for location, year, genotype, environment, and their interactions. The results showed that the yield performances of the cowpea genotypes were highly influenced by genotype × environment interaction effects. The principal component 1 (PC1) and PC2 were significant components which accounted for 46.75% and 22.84% of GGE sum of squares, respectively. We showed for the first time, two mega-environments for cowpea production and testing in the major cowpea production agro-ecologies in Ghana. The genotypes SARI-6-2-6 and IT07K-303-1 were adapted to Damongo, Nyankpala, and Tumu, whereas SARI-2-50-80 was adapted to Yendi and Manga. The best ranking location was Damongo followed by Tumu, and Nyankpala. The high-yielding genotypes, IT86D-610, IT10K-837-1, IT07K-303-1, and SARI-2-50-80 had significant higher grain yields than the check (Bawutawuta) and were recommended for release as cultivars (or as breeding lines) to boost cowpea production in Ghana

Long-term Consistency in Rotavirus Vaccine Protection: RV5 and RV1 Vaccine Effectiveness in US Children, 2012–2013

BackgroundUsing a multicenter, active surveillance network from 2 rotavirus seasons (2012 and 2013), we assessed the vaccine effectiveness of RV5 (RotaTeq) and RV1 (Rotarix) rotavirus vaccines in preventing rotavirus gastroenteritis hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits for numerous demographic and secular strata.MethodsWe enrolled children hospitalized or visiting the ED with acute gastroenteritis (AGE) for the 2012 and 2013 seasons at 7 medical institutions. Stool specimens were tested for rotavirus by enzyme immunoassay and genotyped, and rotavirus vaccination histories were compared for rotavirus-positive cases and rotavirus-negative AGE controls. We calculated the vaccine effectiveness (VE) for preventing rotavirus associated hospitalizations and ED visits for each vaccine, stratified by vaccine dose, season, clinical setting, age, predominant genotype, and ethnicity.ResultsRV5-specific VE analyses included 2961 subjects, 402 rotavirus cases (14%) and 2559 rotavirus-negative AGE controls. RV1-specific VE analyses included 904 subjects, 100 rotavirus cases (11%), and 804 rotavirus-negative AGE controls. Over the 2 rotavirus seasons, the VE for a complete 3-dose vaccination with RV5 was 80% (confidence interval [CI], 74%-84%), and VE for a complete 2-dose vaccination with RV1 was 80% (CI, 68%-88%).Statistically significant VE was observed for each year of life for which sufficient data allowed analysis (7 years for RV5 and 3 years for RV1). Both vaccines provided statistically significant genotype-specific protection against predominant circulating rotavirus strains.ConclusionsIn this large, geographically and demographically diverse sample of US children, we observed that RV5 and RV1 rotavirus vaccines each provided a lasting and broadly heterologous protection against rotavirus gastroenteritis