Nigeria is the world’s largest cassava producer, hosting a diverse array of cassava farmers and processors. Cassava breeding programs prioritize “common denominator” traits in setting breeding agendas, to impact the largest possible number of people through improved varieties. This approach has been successful, but cassava adoption rates are less than expected, with room for improvement by integrating traits in demand by farmers and processors. This paper aims to inform breeding priority setting, by examining trait and varietal preferences of men and women cassava farmer/processors. Men and women in eight communities in Southwest and Southeast Nigeria were consulted using mixed methods. Women and men had significantly different patterns of cassava use in the Southwest. Fifty-five variety names were recorded from the communities demonstrating high genetic diversity maintained by growers, especially in the Southeast. High yield, early maturity, and root size were most important traits across both regions, while traits women and men preferred followed gender roles: women prioritized product quality/cooking traits, while men placed higher priority on agronomic traits. Trait preference patterns differed significantly between the Southeast and Southwest, and showed differentiation based on gender. Patterns of access to stem sources were determined more by region and religion than gender.

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The sustainable development of the rice sector in Ghana is constrained by environmental, socioeconomic, research and development factors. Productivity is generally low, about 1 mt/ha under upland and rain-fed lowland rice ecologies which dominate rice production systems in the country. The release and diffusion of the New Rice for Africa (NERICA) varieties across many countries in Africa (including Ghana) brought renewed hope to both farmers and the research community because of the desirable qualities associated with the NERICAs, and therefore their potential to improve food security on a sustainable basis. This study therefore sought to assess the extent of exposure and adoption of the NERICA varieties across the rice growing districts in Ghana, and determine the key factors that affect adoption. A total of 489 rice producing households from three districts (Ejura-Sekyedumase, Hohoe and Tolon-Kumbungu) were involved in the study. The study employs the average treatment effect (ATE) methodology which provides an appropriate framework for the identification and consistent estimation of the population adoption rate and that of the determinants of adoption. The study finds that exposure to NERICA varieties is generally low in Ghana with an average rate of about 6%. Similarly, the adoption of improved rice varieties is low, and the adoption of NERICA varieties is about 6% of the total sample surveyed. The study shows that experience, education and location are important determinants of exposure, while age and access to extension also affect adoption. It is therefore recommended that much effort and resources should be invested in promotional activities to facilitate both the exposure and adoption of the NERICAs among farmers in Ghana.

This paper has the objectives of (a) comparing estimated willingness‐to‐pay (WTP) across three elicitation mechanisms (a Becker‐DeGroot‐Marschak [BDM] auction, a kth price auction, and a choice experiment [CE]) and (b) examining how these vary by participation fee. The product under consideration is kenkey made with nutritious maize, biofortified with vitamin A, which gives it a distinct orange color, in contrast to the white and yellow varieties that are traditionally consumed. We use an experiment consisting of 14 treatment arms, conducted in rural Ghana. Our estimation strategy explicitly accounts for the censored (typically at the market price) nature of the bids in the auctions, and the apparently lexicographic choices of several individuals in the CE. We find no evidence of economically meaningful (defined by the minimum currency unit of five pesewas) differences in WTP (although they may be statistically significant) across elicitation mechanisms, or by participation fee, a result that is in contrast to that found in much of the literature. A secondary finding is that the provision of nutrition information positively and significantly affects the marginal WTP for the new maize.

A study was carried out to identify the factors that contributed to the natural spread and uptake of a rainfed rice variety named Agya Amoah in the Western Region of Ghana after introduction of a small amount (0.5 kg) of seed in 1987 by a small-scale farmer. Fifteen years after its introduction over 73% of rice farmers had grown the variety in the Western Region. Initial awareness of the variety was created by information provided mainly by friends, seeing the variety grown in fields and from relatives. Seed for initial planting of the variety was purchased from other farmers by 67% of farmers, but in the most recent season 77% of farmers used their own saved seed. Annual incremental income per household from the replacement of the previously most widely grown variety with Agya Amoah was estimated to be US $282. The results show that informal systems can result in relatively fast spread and extensive uptake. Local seed systems need to be understood to design appropriate activities that are likely to lead to rapid spread and equitable distribution of introduced varieties, irrespective of characteristics such as wealth and kin.

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Évaluation économique de taro (Xanthosoma sp. ) et de maïs (Zea mays ) dans un système de cultures associées en mélange. Le taro (Xanthosoma sp.) et le maïs ( Zea mays) sont les cultures vivrières principales souvent cultivées en association. Les essais sur le champ étaient entrepris à Sunyani, Sankore et Begoro dans l' écologie de forêt du Ghana, pour évaluer le rendement agronomique et la productivité économique de deux cultures cultivées comme cultures associées en mélange et la culture seule. Le système de culture avait un effet considérable sur les rendements de cultures constituantes. Les rendements de maïs étaient réduits par 10% pour double lignes de maïs entre les seules lignes de taro et par 26% pour double lignes de taro entre les seules lignes de maïs dans le système de culture associée. Les rendements de taro étaient réduits par 70 à 75%. L' analyse coûts-bénéfices dégageait à la production des bénéfices bruts de 7.6 million cedis par hectare ( $894 ha -1 ) pour la production de maïs seul et 20 .9 million cedis par hectare ( $2459 ha -1 ) pour la production de taro seul . Tous les entreprises agricoles mises à l' essais sur les champs d'agriculteurs étaient viables et rentables dégageant les proportions coûtsbénéfices de plus d'une. Les résultats montraient davantage que les taux de rendement faible (TRF) pour le changement de maïs seul au taro seul, double lignes de taro entre les seules lignes de maïs et double lignes de maïs entre les seules lignes de taro sont respectivement 1279, 348 et 146% . Ce sont plus élevés que les taux de rendement minimum acceptables, qui varient de 40 à 130% aux différents emplacements. Les reliquats et les proportions coûts-bénéfices aussi suivaient la tendance semblable. D' après l'analyse la meilleure entreprise agricole devrait être le taro seul mais pour quelques raisons socio-économiques comprenants utilisation ou la vente de la culture associée pour améliorer leur revenus. L' efficacité d'utilisation de terre, double lignes de taro entre les seules lignes de maïs sont les systèmes de culture associée recommandés dans les limites de l' expérience.

Street foods play an important role in the lives of urban residents in developing countries. Consequently, there has been a lot of research into the nutritional quality of street vended foods, and the safety and hygiene of these foods. Researchers in Ghana have focused not only on the safety and hygiene of street foods but also on the effectiveness of regulations of these foods. While these provide important knowledge base for policy and action, very little has been done on challenges to improve the quality of local street vended foods. This study presents qualitative data from key stakeholders (vendors, consumers, regulators), on the challenges and opportunities to improve the quality of street vended local foods. Results show several challenges that relate to the safety and hygienic conditions at preparation and sale environments, and issues with the local regulatory authorities, inadequate capital with its related challenges and insecure space for street food vendors. This research recommends that efficient and effective collaboration between all actors and relevant institutions could offer the vendors an opportunity and capacity to provide healthy, affordable and preferred local dishes of cultural value to consumers.