UDSspace

Power production and distribution in Ghana is ever more becoming erratic and expensive, both for the power producer and the consumer. It is in this regard that an investigation of hydrothermal power generation scheduling is undertaken for Volta River Authority (VRA) of Ghana. The goal of the study was to determine an optimal power production schedule that meets daily load demands at minimum cost of production and also ascertain the marginal cost of producing electricity per day and ...

Transportation is considered as a key factor in the socio-economic growth of any country. The main mode of public passenger transport in the Wa Municipality had been mainly mini buses (trotro). A new transport system called the tricycle transportation system was introduced, to complement the commercial transportation system in the Municipality. This study was conducted to assess the contribution of the tricycle transportation system to the growth of the local economy of Wa Municipality. Data ...

A case study design and a qualitative approach were adopted by the study to examine how the Lambussie District Assembly applied Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (PM&E) on the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) projects it implemented in its area of authority between 2013 and 2017. It emerged from the study that Lambussie District Assembly applied a tokenism form of participation and involved its stakeholders as observers to monitor and evaluate the DACF projects it im...

The study was undertaken to examine perceived competence, role clarity and job satisfaction of agricultural extension officers in the Northern Region of Ghana. The study adopted both qualitative and quantitative techniques in presenting and analyzing the data. Primary data came from self-completing questionnaire and interview schedule guides covering280 respondents. This was done byusingstratified samplingtechnique, one of the probability sampling techniques. This was followed by coding ...

The impact of environment on the germination biology of the parasite was studied in the laboratory with seeds conditioned at various water potentials, urea concentrations and at 17.5 to 37.5°C for up to 133 days. Maximum germination was observed at 20 to 25°C. Water stress and urea suppressed maximum germination. The final percentage germination response to period of conditioning showed a non-linear relationship and suggests the release of seeds from dormancy during the initial period and lat...

Aim: The impacts of climate change and variability requires proactive and reactive adaptation. The high reliance of farmers on rainfed agriculture leads to their high vulnerability to climate change. As an agrarian economy, irrigation farming system is an essential proactive and/or reactive strategy for the increasing erratic rainfalls in Northern Ghana. This study analyzed the perceptions of smallholder farmers on irrigation farming and the factors that influence access to and size of irriga...

There are a number of ways by which access to ICT can help boost economic activities of communities in a country with the mobile phone being the most common ICT tool especially in Sub Saharan Africa. To examine the impact of digital technology on rural livelihoods in the Pru district of the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana, a survey of 212 peasant farmers was conducted. The probit regression results indicate that, digital technology adoption is significantly influenced by age, cost and availabili...

Exposure to television (TV) is reported to be associated with unhealthy dietary behaviours among children. The surge in new television channels on TV sets in Ghana comes with all sort of advertisements. The aim of the current survey was to examine the nature and content of television food advertising and to explore the association between such exposure and children’s food preferences. In a cross-sectional survey with multistage sampling, 400 primary school children (mean age 10 (SD=...

Occupational health and safety hazards at a work environment are of critical public health concern. Many developing countries are battling with this canker particularly among healthcare workers and Ghana is not an exception. The study aimed to assess the occupational health and safety hazards among healthcare workers in some selected hospitals in the Tamale Metropolis. This was a cross sectional descriptive study carried out in two hospitals in the Tamale Metropolis (Tamale Central Hospital a...

The anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides is a major constraint to yam production worldwide. The harmful effects of synthetic fungicides on the environment have necessitated the use of eco-friendly alternatives. This study investigated the incidence and severity of anthracnose disease of laribako and pona yam varieties in the Tolon District of Ghana, and also characterised C. gloeosporioides isolates associated with infected laribako and pona crops. Phytochem...

A field experiment was conducted at Nyankpala, near Tamale during the 2014 cropping season and continued during 2015, to investigate one year residual effects of indigenous organic materials (biochar, groundnut shell, rice husk and rice straw) on yield components and yield of maize. It was a 4×3×3 factorial experiment consisting of 4 organic materials at 3 levels (2.5, 5 and 7.5 t ha-1 on dry matter basis) and 3 N levels (0, 45 and 90 kg/ha N) laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design wi...

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of value chain interventions on empowerment of shea actors in the Sagnarigu and Kumbungu Districts of Northern region. The study was conducted in the Sagnarigu and Kumbungu Districts of the Northern Region of Ghana. Close and open-ended questionnaires and personal interviews were all used in collecting data from 200 shea actors (shea nut pickers, shea butter processors and shea butter marketers) sampled for this study. The resea...

Infestation caused by Striga gesnerioides (Willd) is a major constraint to cowpea production in the dry savanna of Northern Ghana. Among the approaches used to control the parasite, host plant resistance appears to be more efficient and economical. The objective of this study was to identify sources of resistance to Striga gesnerioides in three hundred RILs of the MAGIC population and their eight founder parents using conventional and molecular breeding methods. The MAGIC population...

Phosphorus is a critical nutrient for crop production. The soil phosphorus deficit in sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most important constraints on crop productions. Resulting from the high phosphorus fixation capacities of highly weathered acidic soil coupled with the relatively low total phosphorus, the impact of this deficit is particularly pronounced in the case of rice cultivation. Phosphate rock is a promising alternative to water-soluble phosphorus fertilizers, but its low solubility ...

The study was conducted on the research field of Integrated Water and Agriculture Development (IWAD) located in the Mamprugu Moagduri District, Yagaba, during the 2015 cropping season. The study sought to determine the effect of tillage system, and NPK fertilizer on productivity and yield of maize-soybean intercrop system. The experimental design consisted of three factors: tillage system at three levels (plough, ripping and direct seeding), cropping system at two levels (sole maize ...

A field experiment was carried out at Gore in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region during the 2016 cropping season to determine the effect of maize- soybean intercrop on Striga hermonthica seed bank, crop growth, and yield. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications on four drought and Striga tolerant maize varieties intercropped with and without soybean variety Afayak. Treatments reduced the initial S. hermonthica seed bank with a...

Together with the excessive consumption of pre-packaged foods, insufficient awareness and use of nutrition labels have been linked to the rising epidemic of diet related chronic diseases. In Ghana, people are increasingly consuming pre-packaged foods, which are generally associated with high salt, sugar and fat contents, and other elements that can be harmful to health. This makes the use of the nutrition label very important. Therefore, this study sought to assess consumer level of awar...

A survey was conducted in some rice-growing areas of northern Ghana during the rainy seasons of August-November, 1996-98 to determine the prevalence of rice pests with emphasis on diseases. Brown spot (Bipolaris oryzae) was identified as an emerging threat to rice production in the low-input cropping systems of the areas. Leaf blast (Pyricularia oryzae), narrow brown leaf spot (Cercospora janseana), leaf scald (Microdochium oryzae), glume discolouration (caused by several pathogenic fungi), f...

　Low soil fertility, particularly in the lowlands, has been identified as a major factor limiting rice yields in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). A comparative study was therefore conducted in Ghana on soil fertility and farmers’ perspectives of soil fertility management in the two major rice growing agro-ecological zones: the Guinea Savanna (GS) and the Equatorial Forest (EF), to examine farmers’ perspectives on soil fertility, how farmers manage fertility, and to suggest proper soil fertility mana...