BSTRACT Prevalence and antibiotic resistance (ABR) profiles of selected food borne pathogens in retailed fresh chicken, sold in the Accra Metropolis, were investigated. Fifty (50) fresh whole chicken carcasses, purchased from commercial cold stores, open markets, meat shops and local poultry farms, in the Accra metropolis, were used. Samples for evaluation were swabs from the breast, wing and vent area of the chicken carcasses. Target pathogens, Salmonella sp., Shigella sp. and E. coli were i...
ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutritional composition, bacterial load and organoleptic quality of farm-raised African catfish (Clarias gariepinus; Burchell, 1822) in the Dormaa Municipality. Thirty (30) specimen of freshly harvested fish Clarias gariepinus of average weight 912.78 ± 16.43 g obtained from a fish farm and an equal number of smoked farm-raised fish of average weight 769.19 ± 6.48 g were used for the study. Proximate analysis, bacterial and organoleptic qua...
ABSTRACT Forestry activities if properly planned, designed and executed can provide significant economic, social and environmental benefits. But land availability and more importantly size, determines the level of investment in forestry. The growing scarcity and social issues surrounding land acquisition necessitate identifying opportunities to enhance forestry development at the household level. Thus, this study investigated the determinants of the proportion of a household land that can be...
Abstract This study was carried out in order to assess some other traditional uses that some woody species can be put to, apart from their usefulness as fuelwood, using Akinyele and Ido Local Government Areas (LGAs), Oyo State, Nigeria, as a case study. Woody species found in agroforestry plots/farms in the study area, were compiled from questionnaires retrieved from 179 respondents, then prioritised using the respondents' ranking, from which twelve species that top the ranking were selected...
ABSTRACT This study assesses the technical conversion efficiency (TeE) of thirty (30) wood re-saw mills purposively selected and grouped into six (6) locations in Akwa Ibom State. Three hundred (300) flitches obtained from fifteen (15) species of wood from Akwa Thorn State, Nigeria were examined. Variables such as wood species, flitch dimensions, saw blade thickness, sawyers' experiences and working environment factors were examined for efficiency determination. Information on operation and w...
ABSTRACT The study set out to assess the fish consumption behavior of low-income households residing in urban areas of Greater Accra and Northern regions of Ghana. The study examined the factors influencing household preferences for fish products (fresh, processed fish or both) and also analyzed socio-economic and geographic factors affecting household income allocation decisions. The study employed the multinomial logit model to analyse the factors influencing household preferences for fish ...
ABSTRACT Mushroom farming is being promoted by governments, national and other international development organisations to reduce rural and urban poverty, creating employment and improving food security. The main objective of this study was to assess the adoption of oyster mushroom farming among beneficiaries of the PROMUSH Project implemented by the Adentan Municipal Assembly in 2015. Specifically, the study sought to, i) determine the knowledge level of PROMUSH trainees of oyster mushroom fa...
ABSTRACT Contract farming is emerging as a promising way to upgrade domestic rice quality in Togo. The Non-Government Organisation ‘Entreprise Territoir et Développement’ (ETD) has started promoting a kind of contract farming scheme called ’Entreprise de Service et Organisation de Producteurs’ (ESOP) in the country. The rewards from contract farming could be substantial for smallholder farmers; yet there is a serious concern about the farmers’ ability to stay in the partnership for...
ABSTRACT The influence of inorganic N sources on growth, leaf yield and quality of mulberry (Morus alba) was studied under field conditions before (Experiment 1) and after (experiment 2) pruning. The treatments consisted of three mulberry varieties (Kanva-2, S-36 and Mysore local) and three N sources (urea, Sulphate of Ammonia and NPK) and a control. The experimental design used was a split plot design. Varieties formed the main plot and N sources the sub-plot factors. The N sources had signi...
ABSTRACTS Sub-Saharan Africa depends on agriculture for economic growth and the well being of its people. The sub-region, and indeed the whole of Africa, has been losing a running battle to make agricultural production meet the ever-increasing population. To make food production cope with the population growth and to achieve economic development, many extension models have been tried. Currently the pre-dominant extension system in Africa is the Training and Visit extension system. In Ghana th...
ABTSRACT Soil salinity is one of the most important factors retarding rice growth and development at both vegetative and reproductive stages. This is becoming a major challenge in the production of rice in Ghana and Africa as a whole. This has necessitated the breeding of salt tolerant lines for the future, since population and hence consumption of rice is always on the increase. Thirty-two (32) rice accessions including four (4) checks were screened for salinity tolerance and also used in di...
ABSTRACT A new agronomic practice known as integrated crop management (ICM) technology is a combination of best farming practices to create a favorable environment thereby discouraging the use of the conventional method of farming. The main objective of this study is to compare the costs and benefits of using the integrated crop management technology and the conventional method. Primary data was solicited from 120 vegetable farmers using well-structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics ...
ABSTRACT Soybean is afected by a wide range of diseases, many of which are seed-borne. Infection by seed-borne pathogens leads to seed rot, low seedling vigour and reduction in plant growth. Seed-borne fungal pathogens on farmer-saved seeds of soybeans were investigated by examining a total of eleven (11) seed samples from two districts (Saboba and Yendi) in the Northern region and one from CSIR-Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI). Appearance quality of farmer-saved soybean se...
ABSTRACT The study which lasted for thirteen months was undertaken to evaluate Moringa oleifera leaf meal (MOLM) as feed ingredient on the growth, reproduction, milk quality, blood indices and carcass characteristics of pigs. The specific objectives were to determine the impact of Moringa oleifera leaf meal fed at varying levels (0%, 5%, 7.5%, 10%, and 12%) on the growth rate, reproductive performance, milk quality, haematological and biochemical indices and carcass characteristics of pigs. T...
ABSTRACT This study examines the extent to which farmers trained by the Food Research Institute have taken up mushroom farming and also determines the profitability of mushroom production. Specifically, the study describes trends in the levels of mushroom production since 1995, the rate of adoption and dis-adoption of mushroom farming by trainees, the profitability of mushroom cultivation and identifies constraints to mushroom farming from the perspective of farmers. Trend description involve...