Browsing by Author "Yahaya, Iddrisu"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Conservation Agriculture Improves Soil Quality, Crop Yield, and Incomes of Smallholder Farmers in North Western Ghana
    Naab, Jesse B.; Mahama, George Y.; Yahaya, Iddrisu; Prasad, P. V. Vara (Frontiers Media, 2017-06-21)
    Conservation agriculture (CA) practices are being widely promoted in many areas in sub-Saharan Africa to recuperate degraded soils and improve ecosystem services. This study examined the effects of three tillage practices [conventional moldboard plowing (CT), hand hoeing (MT) and no-tillage (NT)], and three cropping systems (continuous maize, soybean–maize annual rotation, and soybean/maize intercropping) on soil quality, crop productivity, and profitability in researcher and farmer managed on-farm trials from 2010 to 2013 in northwestern Ghana. In the researcher managed mother trial, the CA practices of NT, residue retention and crop rotation/intercropping maintained higher soil organic carbon, and total soil N compared to conventional tillage practices after 4 years. Soil bulk density was higher under NT than under CT soils in the researcher managed mother trails or farmers managed baby trials after 4 years. In the researcher managed mother trial, there was no significant difference between tillage systems or cropping systems in maize or soybean yields in the first three seasons. In the fourth season, crop rotation had the greatest impact on maize yields with CT maize following soybean increasing yields by 41 and 49% compared to MT and NT maize, respectively. In the farmers’ managed trials, maize yield ranged from 520 to 2700 kg ha-1 and 300 to 2000 kg ha-1 for CT and NT, respectively, reflecting differences in experience of farmers with NT. Averaged across farmers, CT cropping systems increased maize and soybean yield ranging from 23 to 39% compared with NT cropping systems. Partial budget analysis showed that the cost of producing maize or soybean is 20–29% cheaper with NT systems and gives higher returns to labor compared to CT practice. Benefit-to-cost ratios also show that NT cropping systems are more profitable than CT systems. We conclude that with time, implementation of CA practices involving NT, crop rotation, intercropping of maize and soybean along with crop residue retention presents a win–win scenario due to improved crop yield, increased economic return, and trends of increasing soil fertility. The biggest challenge, however, remains with producing enough biomass and retaining same on the field.
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    Descriptive report on cropping systems in Upper West Region, Ghana
    Yahaya, Iddrisu; Hashim, Ibrahim; Naab, Jesse B.; Dalton, Timothy J. (Blacksburg, VA: Office of International Research, Education, and Development, Virginia Tech, 2011-04)
    The challenges one faces in trying to increase improving ecosystem services, improve yields and increase farm level profitability in West African countries largely revolve around the environmental and economic constraints. Improving ecosystem services with a focus on maintaining soil quantity, quality and moisture in West Africa will require the adoption of conservation agricultural practices (CAPS) such as legumes to fix nitrogen, a focus on reduced tillage and practices that maintain as much residue in the system as possible and integrated nutrient, water and pest management practices.
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    Knowledge of households, cropping systems, perceptions on conservation agricultural practices in Upper West region of Ghana
    Yahaya, Iddrisu; Hashim, Ibrahim; Naab, Jesse B.; Prasad, P. V. Vara; Dalton, Timothy J. (Blacksburg, VA: SANREM CRSP, 2011)
    This poster describes the recent findings of the SANREM CRSP's Long-Term Research Activity 8 in the Upper West region of Ghana. This research team interviewed 358 farmers in 12 communities of 3 districts in Ghana in order to collect baseline socioeconomic data as well as to estimate farmer knowledge and perceptions regarding conservation agriculture. In addition to revealing crop productivity and marketing data, research results indicated that farmers were aware of the importance of soil conservation and expressed interest in learning more about conservation agriculture practices and integrated pest management.
  • Perceptions and performance of conservation agriculture practices in northwestern Ghana
    Dalton, Timothy J.; Yahaya, Iddrisu; Naab, Jesse B. (2014)
    Conservation agriculture (CA) has been introduced to Ghana as a means to mitigate erosion while increasing yields, yet adoption remains low. This paper seeks to determine whether farmer knowledge or farm economics limits adoption of CA. To do so, the researchers compared knowledge evolution of farmers that attended a farmer field school, and those that did not. A baseline survey to evaluate farmer perception and knowledge of CA was conducted before implementation of the farmer field school project. Farmers could choose to participate in farmer field schools and on-farm adaptation studies. After two years, a second survey was conducted to compare the evolution of CA knowledge and perceptions of participating and non-participating farmers. Partial on-farm budgets were developed with participating farmers to compare the roles of economics and knowledge in influencing adoption. The authors conclude that farmer training and farmer-to-farmer communication are effective for CA knowledge diffusion.
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    Predisposition for Conservation Agriculture in North West Ghana
    Moore, Keith M.; Lamb, Jennifer Nicole; Yahaya, Iddrisu (2011-09)
    These proceedings are from the conference "Resilient food systems for a changing world" held in Brisbane, Australia, 26 - 29 September 2011. This conference focused on Conservation Agriculture practices, adoption, and impacts in numerous climates and nations. These proceedings include a multitudes of papers submitted to the conference as well as oral presentations, rendering this a very thorough and up-to-date resource on Conservation Agriculture and its impacts world wide.
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    Predisposition for Conservation Agriculture in North West Ghana
    Moore, Keith M.; Lamb, Jennifer; Yahaya, Iddrisu (Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, 2011-09)
    The adoption of Conservation Agriculture (CA) practices is not only dependent upon the suitability of the land and crop, but also upon the farmer him/herself. Changing the perspectives or technological frames of farmers is a necessary first step in implementing CA. The purpose of this research is to determine the local perspectives of farm men and women in the North West Province of Ghana and to identify any relationships between the extension services they received (gender of agent, level of contact) and those perspectives. Two hundred men and 157 women were interviewed in 2010 concerning their level of agreement with 20 agricultural perspectives and their level of contact with their local extension agent. Although more analysis is needed, current results suggest that neither farm men or women's technological frames are dependent upon extension agent contact, and a significant proportion of farm men and women who are considered "Risk Averse" would be most open to CA practices.