INSTI 2019 Annual Report

2019

English

The year 2019 was a fruitful and eventful one for the Institute. Divisions carried out various research projects, some of which were completed. Besides, the Institute discharged its mandate through the provision of services and product manufacturing. The following highlights provide a summary of some of the activities carried out in 2019. Impact Assessment of a Robotics Inspired Science Education Programme on Student Performance and Understanding in STEM Subjects: The use of robots in training students for critical thinking and practical skill acquisition was experimented on students between 12 and 21 years. The research showed that this training approach has a positive impact on students’ understanding and inspired students in attaining higher education in STEM-related subjects. Climate Smart Cocoa Implementer App for Cocoa Extension: The Smartphone app as well as an electronic user guide was developed for the IITA. Extension officers and Cocoa Farmers now have a tool for access to information for conducting tailor-made stepwise investment pathway training in accordance with the CSA package for local farmers. Urban Vegetable Farmers’ Appreciation of Insurance in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana: Conclusion drawn from the study was that about 60% of urban vegetable farmers were willing to participate in and pay for an insurance scheme. Results demonstrated that majority of the farmers upheld the idea of crop insurance due to diseases and pest menace in vegetable farming and therefore wished to purchase insurance contracts, even though they generally wanted to avoid crop losses caused by extreme weather-related disasters. Majority of the respondents who did not wish to participate in such a crop insurance programme stated that the onus was on the state to provide them with the required financial support and to compensate all the financial losses of the vegetable crops caused by natural diseases and pests instead of collecting money from them. Information Security: Usage of Anti-Malware, Implementation of Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plans: In the context of anti-malware, third party mobile devices, laptops and computers tend to be the most infected systems within the Ghanaian government ministries and the most challenging threat that has not been properly countered is the advanced persistent threat. In the business continuity context, much as practices were observed to be generally poor, IT disaster recovery readiness is however relatively better with regular backups being a prominent feature. Design and Implementation of a LiFi Test-Bed: Research showed that uploads via 0° or 180° positioning between transceivers and illuminating devices tended to produce low transmission speeds. Further research is required to confirm this observation and also identify factors possible for interference and localised transmission speeds. Robotics Training Programmes: The training programme uses the Versatile LEGO Mindstorm Robots to engage students in various tasks. Success stories from the programme include the students from the Methodist Girls Senior High School who won gold at the 2019 Robofest World Championship held in Michigan, USA from 19th to 21st May 2019 after having taken part of their training at the CSIR-INSTI. Saturday Robotics Club Sessions are held at the Electronics Division of the Institute from 9am to 12pm every Saturday at a fee of GH₵350/month with a target group of students between the ages of 6 to 15 years. The club is made up of teams, in accordance with the World Robots Olympiad Standard of six (6) members per team. One team took part and placed 4th on the National Ranking at the Elementary category of the RiSE 2019 competitions. Ghana Journal of Agricultural Science & Ghana Journal of Science: GJAS and GJS and are the two leading science journals in the country published by the Institute. The Ghana Journal of Agricultural Science (GJAS) published Issues (1) and (2) of GJAS Vol. 54 (2019) made up of seven (7) and nine (9) articles respectively. The Ghana Journal of Science (GJS) also published Issues (1) and (2) of GJS Vol. 60 made up of five (5) and nine (9) articles respectively. Printing Services: The Institute designs and prints for the Council and its Institutes as well as external organisations including West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use and University of Professional Studies, Accra. Print-outs produced during the year included but not limited to annual reports, calendars, diaries, business cards, letterheads, envelopes, billboards, banners, flyers and brochures. Information resources: The information resources collected by the Scientific Information Management Section for 2019 stood at 1097. These included journals/magazines, theses, annual reports, books and newspapers which were acquired through purchases, exchanges, donations, legal deposit and subscription and collaboration. Number of persons who used the library: A total of 1188 clients from the Mamobi Community and its surroundings visited and used the library. The staff strength: The staff strength of CSIR-INSTI stood at 71 as at 31st December 2019, comprising 25 senior members, 27 senior staff and 19 junior staff. Two staff members resigned in the first month of 2019. The Deputy Director of the Institute, Mrs. Lucy Payne Dzandu proceeded on retirement from the Council on 30th November, 2019. Three (3) other staff members, a senior member and two (2) junior staff also retired in 2019. Income Generated: Total receipts for the year under review amounted Gh¢4,480,777 and payments totaled Gh¢4,493,119.38 with a negative net receipt of Gh¢12,341.99. The receipts are made up of salaries paid by GOG from the Consolidated fund amounting to Gh¢3,959,063.68. Internal Generated Fund (IGF) amounted to Gh¢307,490.97 and Donor Funds of Gh¢214,222.74. The IGF activities included Printing, Hiring of facilities, and Consultancy. The Payment of Gh¢4,493,119.38 for the period is made up of Compensation for Employees of Gh¢3,992,337.99, Goods and Services of Gh¢441,593.60 and Non-Current assets of Gh¢59,187.79.

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