Assessment of Entrepreneurial Behavior Skills among Small Farmers: An Exploratory Study

Aim - The study assessed the entrepreneurial behavior skills of smallholder potato farmers in Nakuru County, Kenya. Methodology - A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were collected from a total of 267 respondents using multistage sampling techniques. The principal component analysis was used to check the reliability and construct variability of entrepreneurial behavior skills. An entrepreneurial behavior index was generated to measure the behavior skills of smallholder potato farmers. Findings - The results show that most smallholder potato farmers had a medium level of risk-taking ability, proactiveness behavior, innovativeness behavior, information-seeking behavior, cosmopoliteness behavior, and decision-making ability. The study concluded that this medium level of entrepreneurial behavior skills made smallholder potato farmers unable to perceive potato farming as a profitable and viable agribusiness venture. Originality - The study recommends that entrepreneurial training with practical demonstration and effective communication skills should be used as an approach to empower and promote the development of entrepreneurial behavior qualities among smallholder potato farmers

Consumers’ willingness to consume cassava leaves as a leafy vegetable in the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana

This study employs the logit model to assess the determinants of consumers’ willingness to consume cassava leaves as a leafy vegetable in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 180 respondents for the study. The study found that majority (76%) of the respondents had no knowledge of the nutritional value of cassava leaves, though they had consumed the product before. The empirical results showed that socioeconomic characteristics of respondents such as age, sex, household size and monthly income, as well as their perceptions on the attributes and use of cassava leaves as food have significant influence on willingness to consume cassava leaves as a leafy vegetable. There is the need to provide information on the nutritional benefits of cassava leaves to facilitate decision-making on its utilisation/consumption. Programmes aimed at promoting the consumption of cassava leaves should consider the significant variables that have influence on the consumption of the product

Financial performance and constraints in Gari Production in Kumasi, Ghana

Gari is a crisp and crunchy West African food made from grated cassava with the excess liquid dried out. It is a major food security product  consumed by most households and students in second cycle institutions in West African. Gari production is an important source of livelihood for many women in the informal sector in Ghana. It serves as a vital avenue for value addition to cassava, thus helping to address the problem of post-harvest losses and generating income for producers. This study assessed the financial performance and constraints in gari production in Kumasi, Ghana. Primary data from a cross-sectional survey of 46 gari producers who were identified using snowball sampling technique was used. Descriptive statistics, profitability indicators, and a 5-point Likert scale were used to analyse the primary data. Results showed that gari production ispredominantly done by women 30-75 years old with a mean age of 50 years. Majority of producers had no formal education (57%) and had been in production for an average of 24 years. It was found that gari production in Kumasi is financially profitable, with all the profitability indicators employed showing positive returns on inputs employed in production, although the values were less competitive relative to other producers’ valueselsewhere. The profit margin was favourable at 22%, return on capital employed (ROCE) at 29% and operating expense ratio at 76%. The relatively low ROCE of 29% compared with the opportunity cost of capital (31%) by commercial banks in the study area indicates the underutilization of producers’ capital in gari production. Key constraints identified in the gari production business were seasonality and high cost of cassava. Adoption of cost-effective management strategies and release of all year round cassava varieties could help improve gari production and livelihoods of producers and other actors along the cassava value chain. Key words: Cassava, Gari, Production, Profitability, Constraints, Women, Livelihood, Kumasi-Ghan

Livestock Assets Ownership Dynamics and Food Security in Wa West District in the Upper West Region of Ghana

Rural households keep multiple livestock species across various income levels, and the sources of these animals differ. The study examined the dynamics in acquiring livestock assets and food security using a focus group discussion and cross-sectional survey of 400 households. Descriptive statistics and paired differences were employed to achieve the objectives. The results showed that livestock assets ownership within a household were mainly held as separate marital property. The ownership pattern indicated that men owned 81.3% of livestock assets while women held 14.9%, with 3.9% of livestock assets being jointly held by men and women. Also, livestock assets are acquired through inheritance, market purchases, NGO/Government and gifts. Women had limited opportunities in acquiring livestock compared to men due to discriminatory customary norms on inheritance. The paired difference in percentages of women’s and men’s total livestock proceeds spent on household food was significant, with women spending a higher fraction of their income on household food than men. Furthermore, the paired difference in the percentage of joint livestock income spent on food was higher than men. The study recommends that programmes target women’s economic empowerment to bridge the gender livestock assets gap to help improve the wellbeing of households

Gender inequality in livestock asset ownership

Food security is a complex phenomenon involving sociocultural and economic factors. This study examines gender inequality in livestock assets ownership on household food security in the Wa West District of Ghana. Data were collected from 400 households based on a cross-sectional survey and a multistage sampling of the respondents. Gender disparity in livestock assets distribution among men and women within the household was ascertained using the Gini index, while the household food consumption score technique was employed to determine household food security status. A binary logit regression model was used to assess the effect of gender inequality in livestock assets on household food security. The results indicated that, on average men owned 1.72 TLU compared to an average of 0.22 TLU owned by women. Livestock contribution to household food security was estimated at 16% of annual household food expenditure, with a composition of 0.90%, 6.04%, and 9.14% jointly owned, women owned, and men owned. Also, 33% of households were food insecure, while 67% of households were food secure at the time of the survey. The empirical results showed that a unit increase in the Gini index of livestock assets distribution in favour of men has a negative effect on household food security. The results further showed that household ownership of livestock, farm size, and education negatively influence household food insecurity, whereas household size, female-headed households, and dependency ratio positively affect household food insecurity in the study area. The study recommends that development programmes should target women’s economic empowerment and education to bridge the gender livestock assets gap to improve food security

Electrochemical Responses and Microbial Community Shift of Electroactive Biofilm to Acidity Stress in Microbial Fuel Cells

Microbial community changes in response to acid stress in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) were studied. Acid mine drainage (AMD) wastewater is usually difficult to treat because of the high concentration of sulfate and heavy metals. MFCs, which have multiple functions based on the principle of synergistically treating organic and heavy metal wastewater while generating electrical energy, represent a promising direction for the development of new heavy metal wastewater treatment technologies. Maintaining a neutral or slightly alkaline wastewater pH in MFCs facilitates the growth of electricity-producing microorganisms in the anode chamber. Studies on the response of anode electroactive biofilms to acidic pH stress and its correlation with changes in AMD treatment capacity have not been reported. Results showed that the anolyte pH of 4.0 and 5.0 affected the electron output capacity of the electrogenic microbial community in the MFCs. In contrast, MFCs working at an anolyte pH of 6.0 exhibited a high efficiency of chemical energy conversion to electrical energy. The microbial abundance and microbial diversity of the electroactive biofilm were significantly affected by the H+ concentration in the medium when the ambient acidity was continuously reduced. The classic exoelectrogen Geobacter decreased gradually with the increase of H+ concentration in the medium. In addition, Cu2+ was recovered from the simulated AMD in the MFCs cathodic chambers at low anode pH, but the removal rate of Cu2+ decreased as the pH of the anode environment decreased. At 48 h, 86.2% of Cu2+ was removed from the MFCs cathode solution at pH 5.0, while the removal rate of Cu2+ from the MFCs cathode solution at pH 4.0 was 84.2%. Trace amounts of Cu2O and Cu3(OH)2[CO3]2 were present on the cathode, which reduced the amount of Cu2+ that precipitated on the cathode carbon cloth. Conversely, the concentration of Cu2+ in the catholyte of MFCs with electroactive biofilm at pH 6.0 decreased rapidly, and by 36 h, no detectable Cu2+ was present in the cathodic solution. This study will provide researchers with valuable information regarding the optimal pH for resource recovery with MFCs