Farmers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the Cocoa Disease and Pest Control Programme (CODAPEC) in Ghana and its effects on poverty reduction

The study examined the contribution of the Cocoa Disease and Pest Control Programme (CODAPEC), which is a cocoa production-enhancing government policy, to reducing poverty and raising the living standards of cocoa farmers in Ghana. One hundred and fifty (150) cocoa farmers were randomly selected from five communities in the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai district of the Western Region of Ghana and interviewed using structured questionnaires. Just over half of the farmers (53%) perceived the CODAPEC programme as being effective in controlling pests and diseases, whilst 56.6% felt that their yields and hence livelihoods had improved. In some cases pesticides or fungicides were applied later in the season than recommended and this had a detrimental effect on yields. To determine the level of poverty amongst farmers, annual household consumption expenditure was used as a proxy indicator. The study found that 4.7% of cocoa farmers were extremely poor having a total annual household consumption expenditure of less than GH¢ 623.10 ($310.00) while 8.0$398.81). An amount of money ranging from GH¢ 20.00 ($9.95) to GH¢ 89.04 ($44.29) per annum was needed to lift the 4.7% of cocoa farmers out of extreme poverty, which could be achieved through modest increases in productivity. The study highlighted how agricultural intervention programmes, such as CODAPEC, have the potential to contribute to improved farmer livelihoods

Tourism and islandscapes: Cultural realignment, social-ecological resilience and change

If, as according to Robin (2015: online), "islands are idealised ecological worlds, the Edens of a fallen planet'", the rationale underpinning tourism expansion should acknowledge MacLeod's (2013) notion of "cultural realignment" that calls for optimal and resilient encounters. This introductory article to the subsequent theme section of the journal on sustainable tourism acts as a bridge toward the development of emergent themes that describe how island peoples adapt and respond in localised cultural islandscapes as a consequence of tourism expansion. The links between cultural alignment and social-ecological resilience are clear and the principal and overarching question posed in this introductory article is: To what extent are islandscapes resilient to rapidly changing utilities, significances and ways of life wrought by tourism expansion? The vulnerabilityresilience duality remains firmly entrenched in the discourse on islands where tourism has become prominent, and although tourism provides some resiliency, overall, islandscapes remain subject to externally driven fast and slow change that exercises an overwhelming influence. Islander agency will likely remain subject to the fluctuations in the demands of the tourism supply chain. Therefore, tourism as a standalone focus of islands is a high-risk proposition, especially in contexts where externally driven change is likely to intensify

Pulse Pressure Relationships with Demographics and Kidney Function in Ashanti, Ghana

Introduction. Hypertension, particularly pulse pressure [PP] is a major risk factor for end-stage renal disease. However, the effect of individual components of hypertension namely PP, systolic [SBP] and diastolic blood pressure [DBP] on kidney function, in the general African population is unknown. Methods. Data were collected on 944 participants [aged 40-75 y], living in villages in the area around the city of Kumasi, Ghana, on demographics, medications, height, weight, BP and 24-hour creatinine clearance (CrCl). Results. The demographic and clinical characteristics were: age 55(11) [mean (SD)] years, females 62%, rural village-dwellers 52%, diabetes 1·5%, BMI 21(4) kg/m2, 24-hourCrCl as a measure of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) 84(23) ml/min/1.73 m2. 29% had BP >140/90 mmHg; SBP and DBP were 125/74(26/14) mmHg, PP was 51(17) mmHg. PP increased with age by 0.55(95% CI: 0.46,0.64) mmHg/year. PP was higher (53(17) v 49(15) mmHg; p < 0.001) in the semiurban participants. GFR decreased both with increasing PP [-0.19 (-0.27,-0.10 ml/min/1.73 m2/mmHg; p < 0.001] and SBP [-0.09 (-0.14,-0.03) ml/min/1.73 m2/mmHg; p < 0.001] but there was no significant relationship with DBP [-0.04 (-0.15,0.06)]. After adjusting for SBP, the relationship between GFR and PP became steeper [-0.31 (-0.50,-0.12) ml/min/1.73 m2/mmHg; p < 0.001]. Using multivariate regression analysis that included PP, age, gender, BMI, only increasing age [-0.75 (-0.88,-0.62)] and decreasing BMI [0.49 (0.16,0.81)] were associated with decreased kidney function. Conclusions. In this homogeneous West-African population, PP increased with age and had a steeper relationship with declining kidney function than SBP or DBP

Aflatoxins and fumonisins contamination of home-made food (Weanimix) from cereal-legume blends for children

Background: Weanimix is an important food for children in Ghana. Mothers are trained to prepare homemade weanimix from beans, groundnuts and  maize for their infants. Groundnuts and maize are prone to aflatoxincontamination while fumonisin contaminates maize. Aflatoxin, is produced by the Asperguillus fungi while fumonisin, is produced by Fusarium fungi. These mycotoxins occur in tropical areas worldwide due to favorable climate for their growth.Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the levels of aflatoxin and fumonisin in homemade weanimix in the Ejura-Sekyedumase district in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.Methods: Thirty six homemade weanimix samples (50g each) were collected from households. Aflatoxin and fumonisin were measured using a fluorometric procedure described by the Association of Official AnalyticalChemist (AOAC official method 993.31, V1 series 4).Results: Aflatoxin and fumonisin were detected in all 36 samples, range 7.9-500ppb. Fumonisin levels range: 0.74-11.0ppm). Thirty (83.3%) of the thirty six samples were over the action limit of 20ppb for aflatoxin withan overall mean of 145.2 ppb whiles 58.3% of the samples had fumonisins above the action limit of 4 ppm with an overall mean of 4.7 ppm .Conclusion: There were significant aflatoxin and fumonisin contamination of homemade weanimix. Children fed on this nutritional food were being exposed to unacceptable levels of aflatoxin and fumonisin. Therefore there is a critical need to educate mothers on the dangers of mycotoxin exposure and to develop strategies to eliminate exposure of children fedhomemade weanimix to aflatoxin and fumonisin.Keywords: Aflatoxin, Fumonisin, Home-made Weanimix, infants

Prevalence of Giardia species in Cattle Faecal Matter in Selected Farms in Weija and Kpong Major Water Supply Heads to Accra, Ghana.

In developing countries including Ghana, giardiasis plays a major role in gastroenteritis in vertebrate. It poses health and socio-economic burden, and continues to be one of the causes of infant and calf mortality. Their infection continues to thrive in humans due to the zoonotic transmission of infected domesticated animals including cattle, dogs and cats, and their con­tinual presence in water bodies. The objective of this study was to establish their presence and evaluate the prevalence of Giardia sp. in cattle faecal matter in the environment in the Kpong and Weija communities. The Iron-haematoxylin staining techniques was used to analyze the faecal samples in order to identify Giardia sp. (Student t- test and Chi square were the statistical analyses) used for the studies. About five percent (5.3%) prevalence was obtained in both com­munities and this was significant (p&gt; 0.05). The parasite was found to be most prevalent (9.4%) in calves less than 3 months old and this decreased with age of calf. It was also observed that Giardia plays an important role in the cause of diarrhoea in cattle. There is the need to educate people on the disease and its implication on the quality of water from the treatment plants. Keywords: Giardia sp, water, contamination, diarrhoea, infant mortality