Savannah Zones Of Ghana Research Articles

Assessing climate model accuracy and future climate change in Ghana's Savannah regions

Abstract This study aimed to compare the performance of six regional climate models (RCMs) in simulating observed and projecting future climate in the Savannah zone of Ghana, in order to find suitable methods to improve the accuracy of climate models in the region. The study found that the accuracy of both individual RCMs and their ensemble mean improved with bias correction, but the performance of individual RCMs was dependent on location. The projected change in annual precipitation indicated a general decline in rainfall with variations based on the RCM and location. Projections under representative concentration pathway (RCP) 8.5 were larger than those under RCP 4.5. The changes in mean temperature recorded were 1 °C for the 2020s for both RCPs, 1–4 °C for the 2050s under both RCPs, and 1– 4 °C under RCP 4.5, and from 2 to 8 °C for the 2080s. These findings will aid farmers and governments in the West African subregion in making informed decisions and planning cost-effective climate adaptation strategies to reduce the impact of climate change on the ecosystem. The study highlights the importance of accurate climate projections to reduce vulnerability to climate change and the need to improve climate models in projecting climate in the West African subregion.

Gastrointestinal parasite infections in small ruminants relative to host sex, age and husbandry system under the guinea savannah vegetation

Despite raising animals mostly as scavengers in the guinea savannah zone of Ghana, there is still scanty scientific information on the effects of this system on the health of these animals. A study was conducted to document factors influencing the prevalence rate of gastrointestinal (GIT) parasites and their loads in 500 small ruminants (250 each of sheep and goats). Prevalence rate of about 86% was recorded in small ruminants. Sheep, however, had higher (P<0.05) overall GIT parasite burden than goats. In sheep, significantly (P<0.05) more females harboured strongyles than males. Similarly, tapeworm and GIT parasites in general, were more prevalent (P<0.05) in younger than older sheep. Strongyle population was higher (P<0.05) in growers than adults, while Eimeria spp populations were higher (P<0.05) in lambs and adults than growers. The overall GIT parasite load, however, was higher (P<0.05) in lambs than all other age groups. In goats, Eimeria spp infections, coinfections of Strongyloides spp/Eimeria spp, tapeworm/Emeria spp, and overall GIT parasite load were much higher (P<0.05) in the extensive than the semi-intensive systems of management. The overall parasite population was also higher (P<0.05) in growers than adults and kids. Coinfections of tapeworm/ Strongyloides spp increased (P<0.05) with increasing age. The prevalence rate of GIT parasites in small ruminants is high. However, higher GIT parasite burden was found in sheep than goats. Younger small ruminants and goats kept in the extensive system of management are more prone to GIT parasite infestation than those kept in the semi-intensive system and older ones, respectively.

After the flames then what? exploring the linkages between wildfires and household food security in the northern Savannah of Ghana

ABSTRACTThis study deploys the livelihoods theory in political ecology together with integrated methods including remote sensing, participatory geographic information systems, interviews and focus group discussions to explore the intricate and dynamic linkages between perennial wildfires and household food insecurity among smallholder farmers in the northern savannah zone of Ghana. Our results suggest that wildfires are a major pathway to household food insecurity in two ways, as perceived by the farmers. First, in instances where wildfires destroy the major crops of smallholders, they are unable to find enough food for the lean season which results in transitory food insecurity. Secondly, in the long term, the environmental impacts of wildfires on the soil lead to lower yields and inadequate food to meet household nutritional needs. Farmers then deploy certain strategies such as early-harvesting and switching to early-maturing crops to avoid with the perennial fires and these strategies further reinforce other dimensions of food insecurity such as nutrition insecurity. Because livelihoods strategies such as crop farming, hunting, charcoal production and herding intersect in the northern savannah zone, we recommend policy options that will engage community members in finding common ways of using shared spaces sustainably. Government should also adopt policies that will encourage domestication of certain livelihood strategies such as cattle herding.

Fertiliser Subsidy and Technical Efficiency of Smallholder Farmers in Selected Districts in the Transitional and the Guinea Savannah Zones of Ghana

The study examined the impact of Ghana’s fertiliser subsidy programme on maize output and technical efficiency among smallholder farmers in Ghana. Several null hypotheses were tested based on data gathered from a sample of three hundred and fifty-two (352) farmers drawn from two of Ghana’s five agro-ecological zones, the Transition zone and the Guinea savannah zone. Both a probit and stochastic frontier models were used to estimate the determinants of access by farmers to fertiliser subsidy and to assess the impact of the fertiliser subsidy programme on maize output and technical efficiency, respectively. Among others, the study found that age, sex, education, access to improved seed, off farm activities, political influence and distance to the nearest fertiliser retail shop influence farmers’ access to subsidised fertiliser. The study also revealed that access to subsidised fertiliser was low (42.3%) although it positively increases maize output in both Guinea savannah and Transition zones. The study estimated mean TEs of 68.7% and 68.9% in the Transition and the Guinea savannah zones respectively. Also, access to subsidy was found to decrease TE of smallholder farmers in both zones significantly. It is therefore concluded that access to subsidised fertiliser has a mix effect on maize output and needs further investigation.

Inadequate Infrastructure: The Bane behind Food Loss and Food Security in the Savannah Zone of Ghana

Inadequate Infrastructure: The Bane behind Food Loss and Food Security in the Savannah Zone of Ghana

Perceived stressors of climate vulnerability across scales in the Savannah zone of Ghana: a participatory approach

Smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are confronted with climatic and non-climatic stressors. Research attention has focused on climatic stressors, such as rainfall variability, with few empirical studies exploring non-climatic stressors and how these interact with climatic stressors at multiple scales to affect food security and livelihoods. This focus on climatic factors restricts understanding of the combinations of stressors that exacerbate the vulnerability of farming households and hampers the development of holistic climate change adaptation policies. This study addresses this particular research gap by adopting a multi-scale approach to understand how climatic and non-climatic stressors vary, and interact, across three spatial scales (household, community and district levels) to influence livelihood vulnerability of smallholder farming households in the Savannah zone of northern Ghana. This study across three case study villages utilises a series of participatory tools including semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. The incidence, importance, severity and overall risk indices for stressors are calculated at the household, community, and district levels. Results show that climatic and non-climatic stressors were perceived differently; yet, there were a number of common stressors including lack of money, high cost of farm inputs, erratic rainfall, cattle destruction of crops, limited access to markets and lack of agricultural equipment that crossed all scales. Results indicate that the gender of respondents influenced the perception and severity assessment of stressors on rural livelihoods at the community level. Findings suggest a mismatch between local and district level priorities that have implications for policy and development of agricultural and related livelihoods in rural communities. Ghana’s climate change adaptation policies need to take a more holistic approach that integrates both climatic and non-climatic factors to ensure policy coherence between national climate adaptation plans and District development plans.

Therapeutic efficacy of artesunate-amodiaquine and artemether-lumefantrine combinations in the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in two ecological zones in Ghana

BackgroundCase management based on prompt diagnosis and adequate treatment using artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) remains the main focus of malaria control in Ghana. As part of routine surveillance on the therapeutic efficacy of ACT in Ghana, the efficacy of amodiaquine-artesunate (AS-AQ) and artemether-lumefantrine (AL) were studied in six sentinel sites representing the forest and savannah zones of the country.MethodsThree sites representing the two ecological zones studied AS-AQ whilst the other three sites studied AL. In each site, the study was a one-arm prospective evaluation of the clinical, parasitological, and haematological responses to directly observed therapy for uncomplicated malaria with either AS-AQ or AL among children aged 6 months and 9 years. The WHO 2009 protocol for monitoring anti-malarial drug efficacy was used for the study between July 2013 and March 2014.ResultsPer-protocol analyses on day 28 showed an overall PCR-corrected cure rate of 100 % for AS-AQ and 97.6 % (95 % CI 93.1, 99.5) for AL: 97.2 % (95 % CI 92.0, 99.4) in the forest zone and 100 % in the savannah zone. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed similar outcomes. Prevalence of fever decreased by about 75 % after the first day of treatment with each ACT in the two ecological zones. No child studied was parasitaemic on day 3, and gametocytaemia was generally maintained at low levels (<5 %). Post-treatment mean haemoglobin concentrations significantly increased in the two ecological zones.ConclusionsTherapeutic efficacy of AS-AQ and AL remains over 90 % in the forest and savannah zones of Ghana. Additionally, post-treatment parasitaemia on day 3 is rare suggesting that artemisinin is still efficacious in Ghana.

Yield Gap Survey in Sudanno-Guinea Savanna Agro-Ecological Zones of Ghana

&lt;p&gt;Yield gap survey (YGS) was carried out in nine selected communities in the Sudanno-Guinea Savannah (SGS) rice growing ecologies of Ghana in the 2012 and 2013 cropping seasons. One lead farmer was selected from each community to host researcher-managed fields. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the causes of yield gaps in rain fed and irrigated ecologies of the SGS of Ghana and to suggest ways by which the gaps can be bridged to enhance the production of the crop in Ghana&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In both 2012 and 2013 seasons, farmers in the Sudan savannah zone recorded higher gaps in rice yields (average 55%) than their compatriots in the Guinea Savannah (average 49%). The analysis of data collected from YGS indicated that factors such as difficult weather and soil conditions, insufficient access to mechanization services/improper land preparation, lack of fertilizers, the use of unimproved rice seed, untimely field operations and inadequate water and pest (in particular weed) management, were some of the key factors that adversely influence rice yields in the study area&lt;em&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Unrestricted access to mechanization services delivery, intensified use of improved rice seed, appropriate melioration with organic and inorganic fertilizers, together with robust soil and water management interventions are essential requirements for bridging experiment-based yield gaps for enhanced rice yields in the Sudanno-Guinea Savannah zones of Ghana.&lt;/p&gt;

Phenotypic and genetic parameters for production traits of local chickens in Ghana

Characterization of indigenous animal genetic resources is a first step in providing much needed information for the conservation and utilization of useful genotypes for future needs. The study was undertaken to estimate heritability of traits of economic importance in local chicken populations from the forest and savannah zones of Ghana. A restricted maximum likelihood animal model was applied to growth data of local chickens from hatch to 40 weeks to estimate heritability, phenotypic and genotypic correlations of body weight and shank length. Heritability, phenotypic and genotypic correlations were also calculated for egg number and egg weight. High genetic and phenotypic correlations were obtained between body weight and shank length. Average heritability estimates were 0.54, 0.42, 0.30 and 0.47 for body weight, shank length, egg number and egg weight, respectively. These moderate-to-high heritability estimates indicate that these traits could be targeted in genetic improvement programmes for local chickens.

English

&nbsp; Maize is one of the most important food crops in Ghana even though its production has not reached self sufficiency levels. Drought and striga infestation are among the most important production constraints of maize in Ghana. Promising high yielding, drought and striga tolerant maize varieties are being evaluated by CSIR and IITA in participatory on-farm trials and demonstrations. These varieties however need to meet farmers&rsquo; varietal preferences in order for them to adopt. This study therefore sought to assess farmers&rsquo; preference for the different drought tolerant maize varieties, and determine factors that influence their choices. Kendall&rsquo;s coefficient of concordance was used to test the level of agreement between farmers on their preferences. The ordered logistic regression was used to estimate the determinants of farmer&rsquo;s preference using cross-sectional observations from 120 maize farmers in the Transitional and Savannah zones of Ghana. Results indicate that maize varieties that are early maturing (2.38) and drought tolerant (2.45) were most preferred by farmers. Area under maize cultivation, fertilizer usage and family size are the factors that were found to influence farmers&rsquo; preference for improved maize varieties. These factors should therefore be considered in varietal promotion. &nbsp; Key words:&nbsp;Drought tolerant, farmers&rsquo; preferences, determinant, savannah and transition zones of Ghana, ordered logit.

Above-ground biomass, nutrients, and persistence of an early and a late maturing Mucuna variety in the Forest–Savannah Transitional Zone of Ghana

Abstract Many farmers in West Africa have adopted the herbaceous legume, Mucuna pruriens, as a fallow species to control weeds and to increase soil fertility on crop lands. This paper presents the biomass, nutrient content, and persistence results of farmer managed trials with late maturing M. pruriens var. utilis (L.) D.C. and an early maturing unclassified Mucuna cultivar relative to a short season natural fallow (control). From August until December 1998 and from June 1999 until March 2000, research was conducted at different farm locations in the Forest–Savannah Transitional Zone and in the Guinea Savannah Zone of Ghana. The following parameters were evaluated: (1) accumulation of above-ground Mucuna biomass during the short rainy season; (2) atmospheric N2 fixation during the same period; (3) Mucuna seed yield components; (4) persistence of above-ground Mucuna and natural fallow biomass throughout the dry season; (5) nutrient concentration and nutrient accumulation of Mucuna and natural fallow at the beginning and the end of the dry season; and (6) percentage ground cover by various biomass components throughout the dry season. During the first 2 months of establishment, M. pruriens grew slowly, producing 163 kg ha−1 above-ground biomass after 30 days and 1472 kg ha−1 after 60 days, but produced 4003 kg dry matter ha−1 after 90 days. Atmospheric nitrogen (N2) fixed by late maturing M. pruriens was estimated at 107.7 kg ha−1 but only 46.1 kg ha−1 for the early maturing Mucuna cultivar. The estimated amount of N2 fixed was significantly correlated with the amount of Mucuna biomass produced with R2 = 0.75 for the early maturing cultivar and R2 = 0.69 for M. pruriens. The nutrient uptake of macronutrients other than N in the Mucuna fallow did not differ significantly from that of the natural fallow treatment for either cultivar. Following a linear regression model, total above-ground biomass on M. pruriens plots declined by 503 kg ha−1 every 4 weeks from November until March, while the biomass on plots planted with the early maturing Mucuna cultivar declined by 911 kg ha−1. While ground coverage (including weeds and crop residues) on fields planted with M. pruriens was still 89.7% at the end of the dry season, coverage on fields planted with the early maturing Mucuna variety averaged only 72%. It was concluded that late maturing Mucuna varieties planted as a relay intercrop in maize (Zea mays) in June can be more easily integrated into existing farming systems than early maturing ones planted in August/September because Mucuna planting does not compete with other farming activities but can be combined with the second weeding of maize. Moreover, it is suggested that the major advantage of a Mucuna fallow is based on the option of not having to burn vegetation in preparation for the next cropping season. The few emerging weeds can be easily slashed as compared to a natural fallow which produces large amounts of lignified plant material. Therefore, this slash-and-mulch technology leads to reduced nutrient losses.

Recovery of cover-crop-N in the soil-plant system in the Guinea savannah zone of Ghana

In order to understand the efficiency of residue-N use and to estimate the minimum input required to obtain a reasonable level of crop response, it is important to quantify the fate of the applied organic-N. The recovery of N from 15N-labelled Crotalaria juncea was followed in the soil and the succeeding maize crop. Apparent N recovery (ANR) by maize from unlabelled Crotalaria juncea, Crotalaria retusa, Calopogonium mucunoides, Mucuna pruriens and mineral fertilizer at three locations were also evaluated. The maize crop recovered 4.7% and 7.3% of the 15N-labelled C. juncea-N at 42 days after sowing (DAS) and at final harvest, respectively. The corresponding 15N recovery from the soil was 92.4% and 58.5%. The highest mean ANR of 57.4% was with mineral fertilizer, whereas the mean ANR of 14.3% from C. retusa was the lowest. A large pool substitution and added-N interaction effect was observed when comparing N recovery from the labelled and unlabelled C. juncea. The amount of residue-N accounted for by the isotope dilution method at 42 DAS was 97.1% and at final harvest 65.8%. The large residue-N recovery in the soil organic-N pool explains the residual effect usually observed with organic residue application.