Impact of positive selection technology on seed yam productivity.

Positive Selection (PS) technique has been shown to reduce virus infection and increase yields, however there is insufficient empirical evidence on how this technology affects seed yam farm productivity. This study employed Propensity Score Matching (PSM) technique to evaluate the impact of PS on seed yam yields of 368 farmers randomly selected from Ghana and Nigeria. The findings showed that educational attainment, distance from the farm to the nearest market, cropping patterns, and other factors influenced farmers' adoption of PS. Furthermore, the adoption of PS technology resulted in a 16.98 % boost in farm productivity for PS seed yam farmers compared to their productivity without the technology. It is of the utmost importance that PS adoption be supported by developing tailored training materials for farmers to improve their use of the PS technology.

Modelling of vertical integration in commercial poultry production of Ghana: A count data model analysis.

Poultry production has significant potential to reduce protein deficiency, food insecurity and poverty in Ghana. However, limited vertical integration and high cost of production in the sector have stifled growth and exposed poultry farms in the country to many risks, leading to poor business performance. This study uses cross-sectional data from 102 commercial poultry farms to assess the determinants of vertical integration in the Ghanaian poultry industry by employing zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) and Zero-inflated Negative Binomial (ZINB) models. The results show that one in every four poultry farms in the country are vertically integrated, either partially or fully. The ZINB model, which best fits the data, reveals that the degree of vertical integration in the poultry business is significantly influenced by a set of personal (education, occupation, and farming experience) and farm level (land tenure, flock size, production cost, and farm revenue) characteristics as well as institutional factors (credit access, extension access and membership of association). The paper discusses the implications of these findings and provides appropriate recommendations for strengthening the poultry industry in Ghana.

COVID-19 Impact on Medical Practice in Sub-Saharan Africa; The Need to Guard Against Medical Negligence: A Case Report in a Health Care Facility in Kumasi, Ghana.

With the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) still in pandemic mode, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the African continent has experienced continued growth in the total tally. According to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the virus has spread to almost all 54 recognized African countries. Figures from the CDC indicate that the highly affected countries include South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Algeria, Morocco, and Ghana (with more than 55 000 cases and 400 deaths as of the time of writing). The WHO and the United Nations have projected the ongoing pandemic could push medical practitioners toward high rates of clinical misdiagnosis. So far, the coronavirus pandemic has been more devastating and life-threatening than the usual seasonal flu. As of the time of writing, here is presently no proven vaccine or treatment for the disease, with the vaccines still under development; hence, a timely and accurate diagnosis could prove critical. Patients can also receive supportive care earlier if they are diagnosed early. Considering the fact that the coronavirus infection mimics the signs and symptoms of normal flu and other respiratory infections, a problem now emerges, where these symptoms are treated as manifestations of the deadly virus. This has caused a diagnostic dilemma in the absence of laboratory tests with new cases adding to the pool daily. In Ghana, many patients on suspicion of flu-like symptoms are sometimes denied the care so deserved due to the stigma associated with the disease, often in cases where laboratory tests are absent. This study is a postmortem report of a client who died while on admission at a private medical facility. It was an unconfirmed case of COVID-19, and the client was left unattended to and died, having spent 8 days on the ward. His test report was not done initially, but the diagnosis was purely based on suspicion. Nasopharyngeal swabs conducted on the fifth day of admission proved negative. Results became available on the day of the client's demise. Postmortem findings established the actual cause of death, and it was not COVID-19 related.

Farm household access to agricultural services in northern Ghana.

Access to agricultural services promotes agricultural production and livelihoods of smallholders in most developing countries. This study explores the factors affecting smallholders' access to agricultural services in northern Ghana. The study relied on survey data for the analysis. We estimated a multivariate probit model to assess the factors influencing access to agricultural services and a generalized Poisson regression model to evaluate the factors affecting the degree of access to these services. The results indicated that farmers had varying degree of access to different agricultural services. The most accessed service was agricultural extension (63% access) while the least was farm credit (40% access). Access to services and the degree of access (number of services accessed) were both influenced by household size, farming experience, household income, farmer group membership, and geographical location. In addition, the number of services accessed by farmers was influenced by participation in off-farm work. The paper proposed measures to enhance smallholders' access to agricultural services to promote agricultural production, food security and rural livelihoods.

Recyclable deep eutectic solvent for the production of cationic nanocelluloses.

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are potential green systems that can be used as reagents, extraction agents and reaction media. DESs are often biodegradable, easy to prepare and have low toxicity. In this work, a recyclable DES formed from aminoguanidine hydrochloride and glycerol (AhG) was used as a reaction medium and reagent (aminoguanidine hydrochloride) for the production of cationic nanocelluloses. Under mild conditions (i.e., a reaction time of 10 min at 70 °C), dialdehyde celluloses (DACs) with two different aldehyde contents (2.18 and 3.79 mmol g-1) were cationized by AhG DES to form cationic dialdehyde celluloses (CDACs). Both CDACs achieved a similar high charge density of approximately 1.1 mmol g-1. At 80 °C (for 10 min), a very high cationic charge density of 2.48 mmol g-1 was obtained. The recyclability of AhG DES was demonstrated by reusing it five times without decreasing the reaction efficiency. In particular, due to the low consumption of amoniguanidine hydrochloride, high recycling efficiency could be achieved without the use of any additional chemicals. The cationized celluloses, CDACs, were further mechanically disintegrated to obtain cationic nanocelluloses. According to the initial aldehyde content of DACs, the morphology of the nanocellulose could be tailored to produce highly cationic cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) or cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). Transmission electron microscopy confirmed that individual CNFs and CNCs with an average width of 4.6 ±â€¯1.1 nm and 5.7 ±â€¯1.3 nm, respectively, were obtained. Thus, the results presented here indicate that the AhG DES is a promising green and recyclable way of producing cationized CNFs and CNCs.