Past Events

24 May 2007. Development of the Livestock and Poultry Industries in Ghana: Challenges and Prospect
Dr. Akwasi Mensah-Bonsu Lecturer, Department of Agricultural Economics & Agribusiness,

24 May 2007 Does use of informal financial service products improve performance of banks and profitability of clients? A case study of the Akwapem Rural Bank.
Cynthia Odonkor Graduate Student, Department of Agricultural Economics & Agribusiness,

17th May, 2007 An Assessment of the Performance of Okyereko and Ashaiman Irrigation Schemes under GIDA and JICA Technical Cooperation - Samuel Oteng Boateng Graduate Student, M.Phil. Agricultural Administration (supported by Ramatu M. Al-Hassan)

17th May 2007, Pesticide Use in Urban Vegetable Farming
-Dr. Irene S. Egyir,Lecturer, Agricultural Economics & Agribusiness
 

Abstracts & Papers
Development of the Livestock and Poultry Industries in Ghana: Challenges and Prospect
by Akwasi Mensah-Bonsu Lecturer, Department of Agricultural Economics & Agribusiness,
 

Livestock and poultry production, like crop production, is an integral feature of agriculture in Ghana, contributing significantly to economic development. The challenges of the industry in the liberalized Ghanaian economy vary generally for the key stakeholders namely the consumers, producers and the Government (and its regulatory institutions). The paper discusses the livestock and poultry industry in Ghana’s macroeconomic programmes, outlining the attempts to develop the industry as part of the country’s development efforts, the current state, the challenges and prospects of the industry. The discussion has been done by reviewing of relevant literature and descriptive analysis of data obtained from the Livestock Planning and Information Unit of MOFA, using percentages and graphs.

The review of literature suggests that the production constraints of the industry have persisted over a long period of time. The persistent production constraints include:
• Low productivity and low resistance breeds of livestock/poor access to improved stock
• High incidence of animal diseases/prevalence of diseases especially in cattle and poultry
• Poor disease surveillance systems
• Inappropriate husbandry practices
• Low level of dairy production
• Insufficient pasture for grazing animals
• High cost of processed animal feed
• Conflicts between crop and livestock farmers over land use (a more recent constraint)

The livestock industry in Ghana is largely made up of ... (Get Full abstract)

Does use of informal financial service products improve performance of banks and profitability of clients? A case study of the Akwapem Rural Bank.
 

Cynthia Odonkor Graduate Student, Department of Agricultural Economics & Agribusiness,
[abstract to be supplied shortly]

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An Assessment of the Performance of Okyereko and Ashaiman Irrigation Schemes under GIDA and JICA Technical Cooperation

Samuel Oteng Boateng Graduate Student, M.Phil. Agricultural Administration (supported by Ramatu M. Al-Hassan)

[abstract to be supplied shortly]

Pesticide Use in Urban Vegetable Farming
-Dr. Irene S. Egyir,Lecturer, Agricultural Economics & Agribusiness

Urban agriculture (UA) has been receiving increased attention in recent years as a dimension of urbanization worldwide and as a means to alleviate poverty and improve diets in these areas. Pesticides are inputs that have become important with respect to safe vegetables for consumption and increased income. To use or not to use biopesticides that are deemed safer by many people depend on several factors. The major objective of this paper is to identify the factors that affect the willingness to use biopesticides by urban farmers. Data collected in 2005 by a CORAF funded study on "Market surveys and subsector analysis of vegetable production in West Africa" is employed. For the Accra- Tema Metropolis, the general indication was that although less than 20 percent of the respondents had ever used bio-pesticides about 85 percent expressed willingness to use the product. The logit estimation was employed to identify the factors that affect the willingness of farmers to use biopesticides. The results show that yield, major occupation, extension contact and sickness due to chemical pesticide use significantly influence the willingness to use biopesticides. The conclusion is that although biopesticides could be less harmful to humans, it would be integrated in the farming system if and only if, farming is a major occupation, extension education is consistent, crop yields would increase and farmers do not fall sick after pesticides use. It is recommended that interventionists target urban farmers and package training programmes that consistently give them information on effective biopesticide application for high yields.

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