INSTI 2017 Annual Report

2017

English

The list of research projects and training programmes organised below are extracted from the various Divisions and were carried out by the Institute during the period under consideration. Details of the projects are presented in this report. Assessment of the Use of Grasscutter (Thryonomys Swinderianus) Production Technologies in the Agona West Municipal in the Central Region of Ghana Grasscutter production technologies disseminated through video in the catchment had been effective and also improved upon the livelihood capitals of respondents in the area of study. The findings make a strong case for the inclusion of grasscutter rearing in Government’s employment creation strategy. How the Policy Environment Influences Value Chain Linkages: A Comparative Study of Cocoa and Pineapple in Ghana Private sector leadership in value chain functions and service provision can engender the kind of linkages that promote choices and create more space for complex systems of interactions and learning behaviours for actors to translate their challenges into innovative activities. A policy environment that promotes public sector leadership in value chain functions and support services offers little motivation for actors, especially small-scale producers, to forge linkages horizontally and vertically. A strong case is made for participation of private sector actors as it is more likely to expand the platform for more interactive learning among actors for their mutual benefit. Urban Vegetable Farmers’ Appreciation of Insurance in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana 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. Most of the respondents who did not wish to participate in such a crop insurance programme stated that given the current increase in general price levels of vegetable products in Accra, the onus was on the state government 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. The Geospatial Dimension of Soil Suitability Categorization for Agricultural Improvement in South Tongu District of Ghana Satellite imagery was used to develop a new land cover/use map of South Tongu District and it was realized that the FAO soil classification did not coincide with the types of crops cultivated on such soils, however; soil suitability data from CSIR-SRI generally conformed to the types of crops being cultivated in most parts of the area. Information Sources and Needs among Mango (Mangifera Indica L.) Farmers in the Shai Osudoku District of the Eastern Region of Ghana Mango farmers in Shai Osudoku district need various types of information for mango farming, and they access their required information from, radio, agricultural input dealers, leaflets, NGOs/CBOs and family/friends, however, mango farmers in the study area have challenges in accessing agricultural information properly due to lack of information centres/Libraries, inadequate number of extension agents, lack of awareness of information sources and information not easily accessible. Willingness to Pay for Agricultural Extension Services by Small-scale Pineapple Farmers in Ghana: A Case Study of Akuapem South District Though the services were rated good, the small scale pineapple farmers in the study area were willing to pay for better extension services. This was confirmed by the results of the chi-square analysis. Nevertheless, as strongly agreed by farmers in the study area, there were some problems facing small scale pineapple farmers and extension service. It is therefore important that a workable fashion for the implementation of a policy be designed for the Pay for agricultural extension services by small-scale pineapple farmers in Ghana. This is expected to improve extension services and farmers’ productivity. Assessing Farm Record Keeping Behaviour among Pineapple Farmers in the Akuapem South District, Ghana The study showed that records kept by small–scale pineapple farmers in the area were mainly those pertaining to sales and production. They preferred to keep their farm records daily and through manual storage. The socioeconomic factors affecting record keeping in the study area were educational level, years of experience and farm size. Small-scale pineapple farmers in the study area agreed that keeping of farm records will enable them to make productivity projections and will help manage change and improvements in agribusiness. In the same way farmers designated that they had no formal training in record keeping and also indicated that, they are not able to keep farm records due to time constraints. Ghana Journal of Science & Ghana Journal of Agricultural Science Volume 51 (2017) of the Ghana Journal of Agricultural Science (GJAS) made up of nine (9) articles and Volume 57 (2017) of the Ghana Journal of Science (GJS) made up of 6 articles were published. Information resources The information resources collected by the Scientific Information Management Section for 2017 stood at 1699. These included journals/magazines, theses, annual reports, books and newspapers which were acquired through exchanges, donations and data collection. Number of persons who used the library A total of three thousand two hundred and sixty-seven 3,267 clients made up of students and researchers visited the library throughout the year. Staff strength The staff strength of CSIR-INSTI stood at 66 as at 31st December 2017, comprising 20 senior members, 26 senior staff and 20 junior staff. Three (3) staff members resigned and two (2) retired. Four (4) new staff were also employed during the year. Income Generated The Institute generated GH₵3,277,311.06 from its services and contract research activities, while the total expenditure for the same period amounted to GH₵3,293,249.02. The surplus for the year was (GH₵15,937.96).

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