Socio-economic impact and acceptance study of drone-applied pesticide on maize in Ghana

The general consensus among agricultural stakeholders is that smallholder farmers need to become more productive and profitable on a sustainable basis. Unmanned aerial system (UAS) – or drone-based system – services can contribute towards these goals by bringing some of the tools of digital agriculture to agribusiness enterprises, including large and medium-scale holdings, and associations of small-scale farmers growing the same crop on contiguous areas. In Africa, UAS services can be described as nascent and are usually provided by entrepreneurs who invest in the equipment and necessary skills to use the technology, and go on to conduct or sub-contract data analysis, interpret the findings and advise customers. Cutting edge use of specially designed drones allows the devices to be used for agrochemical application on crops

Pesticide Use and Health Hazards among Small-Scale Commercial Vegetable Growers in the Nsawam Adoagyiri Municipality in the Eastern Region of Ghana

This study examined pesticide use practices and related health hazards in a specific region in Ghana. A cross section survey design was conducted among a sample of 150 small-scale commercial vegetable growers in the Nsawam Adoagyiri municipality in the Eastern region of Ghana. Information on demographic characteristics, pesticide practices and knowledge of health hazards in the interview schedule was administered to the respondents. Univariate and bivariate analyses were then conducted. The results of the study indicate that the mean score for all the various technical competencies of the vegetable farmers is 4.10 on the Likert scale of 1 to 5 and this could be attributed to training they received on pesticide use from extension agents. Not surprising, the respondents generally reported low levels of symptoms from health hazards with mean scores of headaches (1.5), excessive sweating (1.37), dizziness (1.22), diarrhea (1.06) and vomiting (1.04). However, the mean scores for eye irritation (2.65) and skin irritation (2.61) suggested they were common among many respondents based on not using personal protective clothing, including hand gloves (95.3%), face masks (98%), or overalls (96%). It is recommended that small-scale commercial vegetable growers’ access to and usage of personal protective clothing be promoted to reduce skin and eye irritation. Keywords: Pesticides, health hazards, commercial vegetable growers, small-scale farms  

Mobile phone-assisted agricultural extension services: User competency and usage frequency in eastern Ghana

Adoption studies have mainly focused on econometric and quantitative modelling that usually assume smallholder farmers competently adopt agricultural technologies. This study provides novel insights on user competency and frequency of usage of mobile telephony for agricultural  extension services among smallholder farmers and agricultural extension agents (AEAs) and key factors that impede the adoption process. The study examined users’ competencies and mobile phone usage frequency for access and delivery of agricultural extension services in Eastern Ghana. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 95 AEAs and 330 smallholder farmers in five districts of the Eastern region of Ghana and data were collected through semistructured interviews. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and regression analyses were performed to analyse the data. Results showed substantial differences between AEAs and smallholder farmers’ competency in the use of mobile phones for agricultural  extension services. Socio-demographic characteristics of smallholder farmers and AEAs correlated with usage frequency of mobile phones for access to extension services and delivery. Educational level, amount of weekly expenditure of money on mobile phone use, mobile phone network quality, income level, and age ofboth AEAs and smallholder farmers had positive and significant correlations with frequency of usage of mobile phones. User competency differentially impacts the frequency of mobile phone use in agricultural extension services between AEAs andsmallholders. High call tariffs and access to recharge cards are major challenges in using mobile phones for agricultural extension in the study areas. The study shows components of the adoption theory of compatibility, and complexity where an innovation fits within the socio-cultural framework and perceived difficulty of use. Thus, the frequent use of voice calls is indicative of early stages of the diffusion process and may diversify into other applications in the future. Farmer-based organisations should be resourced to support training of farmers to use mobile phones to improve access to agricultural information dissemination. Integrating voice-based agricultural information services (IVRs) into the current SMS-based agricultural extension services in Ghana could potentially boost extension service delivery to smallholder farmers in the Eastern region and across the country. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture may partner with key stakeholders and mobile service providers to offer hands-on capacity building to smallholder farmers and AEAs in video calling/conferencing, multimedia service, and social media to enhance their competencies for improved agricultural extension services

Effect of pineapple waste biochar and compost application on the growth and yield of pineapple varieties in Ghana

IntroductionBiochar is one of the commonly used soil amendments for sustainable agriculture. The effect of biochar on crop yields depends on the quality of the biochar, which is influenced by feedstock type and pyrolysis conditions. Sole application of pineapple waste biochar and compost, and their combination has not been rigorously investigated. In this study, we investigated the effects of pineapple waste biochar and compost applied solely or in combination on growth and yield of pineapple on a coastal savanna Acrisol in Ghana.MethodsThe split-plot design with three replications was used, with pineapple varieties as the main plot and fertilizer application rates as the sub-plots.Results and discussionThe results showed that sole application of biochar and compost or their combination as a soil amendment increased pineapple growth and yield as compared to the unamended soil. Biochar applied in combination with compost/or inorganic NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) fertilizer significantly increased plant height and the number of leaves of pineapple plant, which resulted in improved fruits yield of the three (sugar loaf, MD2 and smooth cayenne) pineapple varieties at maturity over control, sole application of biochar, compost and inorganic NPK fertilizer. The Smooth cayenne variety outperformed MD2 and Sugar loaf variety.ConclusionIn conclusion, the results revealed that biochar applied solely or in addition to compost or inorganic NPK fertilizer has the capability to enhance soil quality and improve pineapple yield. Application of biochar in combination with compost/or inorganic NPK improves pineapple growth and yield

Assessing the Effectiveness of Government Communication on Public Policy in Ghana: The Case of Planting for Food and Jobs Policy

This paper examined the effectiveness of government communication on public policy in Ghana using the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) policy as a case. Data was obtained from 412 inhabitants from the Western Region who responded to a set of questionnaires and a structured interview guide. Means, standard deviation, Mann-Whitney U-test, and Kruskal Wallis test were employed for data analysis. The study established that though respondents perceived the PFJ policy as highly relevant to job creation and food production, the overall effect of the policy on job creation was low. No significant differences existed in the views of male and female respondents regarding the perceived effect of the policy on job creation and food production. Government communication strategies to promote awareness, public dialogue, shared understanding, and public support towards the policy were all perceived as moderately effective. However, government communication activities to explain the policy details to the public, mobilize citizens and communities to support the policy, and promote positive behavior change for the policy were perceived as lowly effective by the respondents despite the differences in their ethnic backgrounds. Government press releases and press conferences on the progress of the policy were lowly effective. Though government communication at the implementation stage of the policy was effective, it was generally ineffective during the formulation, monitoring, and evaluation stages of the policy. Measures suggested to sustain the policy include increased commitment from state authorities, increased participation by all stakeholders, improved communication on the policy, grassroots ownership, and de-politicization of the policy

Challenges and solutions for enhancing agriculture value chain decision-making. A short review

© IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2017. Increasingly challenging global and environmental requirements have resulted in agricultural systems coming under increasing pressure to enhance their resilience capabilities. This in special to respond to the abrupt changes in resource quality, quantity and availability, especially during unexpected environmental circumstances, such as uncertain weather, pests and diseases, volatile market conditions and commodity prices. Therefore, integrated solutions are necessary to support the knowledge-management, collaborative ICT solution, risk management and regulation management across agriculture stakeholders. Therefore, and based on the on-going work under the H2020 RUC-APS project research network, this book chapter is oriented to contribute to agriculture value chain decision-making field to cover the current need on gathering a common understanding and appreciation of new trends in agriculture value chain, in special the multi-disciplinary challenges. For this, a short a literature review is conducted to summarise the main findings on real application and current research trends. This within the objective to propose an integrated framework based on better use of communication ways, standardised structures, development of training and awareness, regulation based initiatives and vertical Integration

A critical comparative review of evidence on alternative instruments for supporting research and innovation in agri-food systems in the Global South

Financial support is a critical enabling factor for healthy agri-food innovation systems, particularly within resource-limited settings, though additional forms of support are also necessary. This motivated a critical comparative review of evidence in peer-reviewed and gray literature on the range of instruments that support innovation in agri-food systems in the Global South, toward achieving sustainable agriculture intensification. The main aim is to provide recommendations to innovation managers on the choice of different instruments for supporting innovation. The key guiding questions for the comparative analysis were whether the instrument fosters uptake of innovation and whether it promotes inclusive development. A review of the literature was supplemented with a scan of websites for sources of peer-reviewed and gray literature documenting the application of the 12 selected instruments. The study revealed three categories of instruments: (Type A) those that support entrepreneurship; (Type B) those that primarily finance innovation; and (Type C) those that support innovation in real-life contexts. Our analysis indicates that innovation managers and funders need to select instruments that are likely to fit the specific context as well as to address the mandates of their organizations, and in so doing, they must consider how to ensure the sustainability of their investments and meet the needs of their beneficiaries. This review represents one of a handful that have compared the use of multiple instruments across multiple continents in the Global South, and can serve as an important decision-making tool for investors and funders looking to invest in agri-food innovation systems

Replacement of soya bean meal with peas and faba beans in growing/finishing pig diets: effect on performance, carcass composition and nutrient excretion

There is now an increasing debate about the viability of using temperate-grown legumes in pig diets as a potential replacement for imported soya bean meal (SBM) and this is due to food security, sustainability and environmental concerns. Two trials were designed to examine nitrogen (N) retention, growth performance and carcass quality of grower and finisher pigs when fed nutritionally balanced SBM-free diets formulated to contain peas or faba beans at 300 g/kg, compared to an SBM-containing, pulse-free control diet. Trial 1 evaluated N digestibility/retention in four iso-energetic diets, comparing the SBM control with one diet formulated with peas and two with faba bean cultivars; a tannin-containing and a tannin-free variety. This trial employed a four by four Latin Square design with four male pigs housed in metabolism crates, fed twice daily at 0.9 of assumed ad libitum intake over four time periods during grower (30–55 kg) and finisher (55–95 kg) phases. Quantitative faecal and urine collection allowed determination of N coefficient of total tract apparent digestibility, coefficient of apparent metabolisability, and N balance. Results revealed that dietary treatment did not affect these N parameters (P > 0.05) during either the grower or finisher phase. Trial 2 evaluated growth performance (feed intake, daily live weight gain and feed conversion ratio) and carcass quality parameters. Five diets (based on SBM, peas and one of three faba bean cultivars) balanced for standard ileal digestible amino acids and net energy were each fed to eight replicates of individually housed entire male pigs over the same growth phases as Trial 1. The inclusion of three faba bean varieties allowed comparison of animal responses between tannin/tannin-free and spring vs. winter bean cultivars. At ∼95 kg, pigs were slaughtered and a comprehensive range of carcass measurements undertaken. Samples of shoulder backfat were also taken at slaughter to determine skatole and indole concentrations. As with N balance, feeding treatment did not affect performance data. Carcass parameters revealed pigs fed with the pea-based diet had a greater dressing percentage than those animals on faba bean-based diets. Pigs fed with the SBM or pea-based diets also had greater lean meat percentages than those on faba-bean diets. Mean skatole concentrations for all pigs were below the accepted maximum threshold level of 0.2 μg/g. In conclusion, it is suggested that peas and faba beans can be successfully fed in balanced pig diets throughout the grower/finisher periods as alternatives to SBM

Meat Quality Assessment by Electronic Nose (Machine Olfaction Technology)

Over the last twenty years, newly developed chemical sensor systems (so called “electronic noses”) have made odor analyses possible. These systems involve various types of electronic chemical gas sensors with partial specificity, as well as suitable statistical methods enabling the recognition of complex odors. As commercial instruments have become available, a substantial increase in research into the application of electronic noses in the evaluation of volatile compounds in food, cosmetic and other items of everyday life is observed. At present, the commercial gas sensor technologies comprise metal oxide semiconductors, metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors, organic conducting polymers, and piezoelectric crystal sensors. Further sensors based on fibreoptic, electrochemical and bi-metal principles are still in the developmental stage. Statistical analysis techniques range from simple graphical evaluation to multivariate analysis such as artificial neural network and radial basis function. The introduction of electronic noses into the area of food is envisaged for quality control, process monitoring, freshness evaluation, shelf-life investigation and authenticity assessment. Considerable work has already been carried out on meat, grains, coffee, mushrooms, cheese, sugar, fish, beer and other beverages, as well as on the odor quality evaluation of food packaging material. This paper describes the applications of these systems for meat quality assessment, where fast detection methods are essential for appropriate product management. The results suggest the possibility of using this new technology in meat handling

The influence of intervening variables and subjective norms on the adoption behavior of small scale farmers in South Africa and Lesotho

The main research problem is the low productivity of small scale maize farmers largely as a result of low adoption rates of recommended practices that could enhance yield levels and improve their incomes and livelihoods, and the inability of extension workers to effectively influence farmers’ decision making process by their lack of appropriate predictive extension planning tools. The problem faced by extension workers is the lack of understanding of the wants and needs of farmers, their preferences and behavioral inclinations towards agricultural innovations. In order to contribute to the understanding of farmers’ behavior change, the study sought to compare the relative influence of personal and social characteristics of farmers with intervening variables as conceptualized by Düvel and Ajzen’s subjective norms, with the objective of determining their predictive potential of farmers behaviors for extension program planning purposes. A secondary objective was to search for additional variables to explain farmer’s adoption behavior by exploring the predictive value of the subjective norm concept The study was carried out in the Leribe and Maluti-a-Phofung districts of Lesotho and South Africa respectively. A structured questionnaire with a Sotho translation was used to collect data from 107 farmers randomly selected from the districts and administered by trained extension staff. The data collected was analyzed using the social sciences (SPSS). In determining the relationships between the independent and dependent variables, Chi-square test of independence, correlation and regressions analysis were used. In all 10 independent and nine intervening variables were selected for the study. The independent variables were location of the farm, membership of farmers association, gender, age, level of education, experience in farming, off-farm income, amount of time spent farming, total farm size and area under maize cultivation. The intervening variables were efficiency perception, need compatibility, need tension, awareness and prominence constituted cognitive aspects derived from Düvel’s Model and the social dimensions adapted from Ajzen’s subjective norm concept were, important people, extension agents, close friends and membership of farmers association. The results suggest that farm size and area under maize cultivation were the only variables that showed any consistent influence with adoption of recommended maize agronomic practices namely: use of improved seeds, lime and fertilizer applications. The association between the remaining variables seems to be more dependent on the type of recommended practice. For example location was found to be significantly associated with the adoption of fertilizer and top-dressing practices but not with lime and the use of improved seed. All the remaining independent variables gender, age, educational level, experience and time spent on the farm appear not to have any significant influence on the adoption of the recommended practices at five percent level of probability. Compared to the independent variables, five out of the nine intervening variables, namely: prominence, awareness, need compatibility, efficiency perception and need tension were consistently found to be highly significantly associated with the adoption of all the four recommended maize agronomic practices at 5% level of probability. On the other hand, the subjective norm variables did not show any consistent association with adoption behaviors of respondents In general the analysis suggest a lower than expected contribution to variation as the results contradicts the hypothesis that farm and farmer characteristics influence adoption behavior. This is supported by the fact that, except for top- dressing where the characteristics of the farmer and farm contribute about 40% to the explanation to total variation, the rest all fall below 20 %. In contrast, the evidence shows that the intervening variables – those with cognitive dimensions, showed a high degree in explaining variation in the adoption behavior in all the production practices studied. The power of explanation ranged from 49% in the case of adoption of improved seed practices to 77.7% for the use of lime. The results provide strong evidence in support of the contention that, the intervening variables of cognitive in nature, are the likely precursors of decision making through which the influence of independent variables become manifested in behavior. The results also show that need, perception and knowledge related variables mediate between intentions, personal variables and the environment and decisions on adoption. This study confirms and opens the way for the search for more intervening variables with the potential to extend the epistemology of extension science.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013.gm2013Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Developmentunrestricte