Effect of Parkia biglobosa (Dawadawa) pod extracts on strongyle ova in sheep

A preliminary study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of two forms of dawadawa pods extracts against strongyle worm ova loads in sheep from November, 2008 to January, 2009 at the Animal Science Farm, University for Development Studies. Twenty Djanlloke sheep were used for the study. A completely randomized design was employed. Three levels of dawadawa pods extracts; boiled pod extracts (T1), pounded and soaked pod extracts (T2) and control (T3) were used as treatments. Strongyle ova levels weremonitored monthly after treatment. Ova counts of Strongyle tended to decrease in the sheep through out the study period. There was significant difference (P<0.05) in mean monthly ova counts of Strongyle between November and December for T2 but not for T1 or the control. No significant differences (P>0.05) were recorded between or within treatments for the months of December and January

Constraints to ruminant production in East Mamprusi District of Ghana

A study was designed to identify species-specific constraints to ruminant production as perceived by animal owners in East Mamprusi District. The hypothesis was that the constraints to production as perceived by sheep, goat and cattle farmers were sufficiently different to warrant species-specific strategies being recommended. A total of 516 ruminant owners were chosen from the 10 agricultural zones of the district using a multistage sampling technique. They were interviewed using a questionnaire with open-ended and closed questions. A total of 496 completed questionnaires were acceptable, comprising 32.9 per cent sheep owners, 36.7 per cent goat owners, and 30.4 per cent cattle owners. The response rate was 96 per cent. The study showed that the background or perceptions of sheep, goat and cattle owners differed significantly (

AGRICULTURE AND BIOLOGY JOURNAL OF NORTH AMERICA Comparative study of growth and laying performance of indigenous layer guinea fowls (Numida meleagris) from Upper East, Upper West and Northern Regions of Ghana

ABSTRACT An eleven-week experiment to compare the performance of 45 weeks old local layer guinea fowls from Upper East (UER), Upper West (UWR) and Northern (NR) regions of Ghana was conducted at the Animal Science Department farm of the University for Development Studies, Tamale. 243 birds, 86 from UER, 79 from UWR and 78 from NR were used. Birds from each region were divided into four groups and put into four cages each. The diet was made up of 25% layer concentrate, 55% maize and 20% wheat bran. Water was provided ad libitum. Parameters measured were feed intake (FI), body weight, and weight gain, feed conversion efficiency (FCE), mortality, rate of egg laying and fertility. There were no significant differences (P>0.05) in FI and FCE of birds from the three regions. UWR birds were more efficient in feed conversion than birds from UER and NR. Mortality was generally low. Birds from UWR laid more eggs (631) while UER birds recorded the lowest (352 eggs). Egg fertility was high (74%) with NR birds but low in UER (53.6%) and UWR birds (43%). UWR birds exhibited high potential for egg production and FCE than those from the UER and NR. NR birds performed fairly well in egg production and body weight gain. UER birds laid fewer eggs though they had large body size indicating they possess meat production tendencies

Towards malaria control and elimination in Ghana: challenges and decision making tools to guide planning

Ghana is classified as being in the malaria control phase, according to the global malaria elimination program. With many years of policy development and control interventions, malaria specific mortality among children less than 5 years old has declined from 14.4% in 2000 to 0.6% in 2012. However, the same level of success has not been achieved with malaria morbidity. The recently adopted 2015–2020 Ghana strategic action plan aims to reduce the burden of malaria by 75.0%. Planning and policy development has always been guided by evidence from field studies, and mathematical models that are able to investigate malaria transmission dynamics have not played a significant role in supporting policy development. The objectives of this study are to describe the malaria situation in Ghana and give a brief account of how mathematical modelling techniques could support a more informed malaria control effort in the Ghanaian context. A review is carried out of some mathematical models investigating the dynamics of malaria transmission in sub-Saharan African countries, including Ghana. The applications of these models are then discussed, considering the gaps that still remain in Ghana for which further mathematical model development could be supportive. Because of the collaborative approach adopted in their development, some model examples Ghana could benefit from are also discussed. Collaboration between malaria control experts and modellers will allow for more appropriate mathematical models to be developed. Packaging these models with user-friendly interfaces and making them available at various levels of malaria control management could help provide the decision making tools needed for planning and a platform for monitoring and evaluation of interventions in Ghana