Gordana Kranjac-Berisavljevic

The use of human waste for peri-urban agriculture in Northern Ghana

In Ghana, studies on the use of organic materials to increase soil productivity have focused on crop-residue management, use of green and animal manures, and legume cover cropping. Few studies have assessed the use of human waste for agriculture, even though this is widely practiced by farmers in the northern part of the country. This study was carried out to investigate the stakeholders in the use of faecal sludge (FS) for crop production in Tamale and Bolgatanga municipalities in the guinea savanna agroecological zone of Ghana. The aim was to determine the driving factors, constraints and potentials for this practice. Field survey and focus group discussions were carried out among 90 farmers who use FS, and officials of the Municipal Sanitation Unit were interviewed. Sixty-four percent of farmers interviewed used FS as a cost-effective way to improve soil fertility and increase yields of maize and sorghum. Sludge is discharged by spreading it on the soil surface, or it is stored and dried in pits during the dry season and incorporated into the soil at the onset of the rainy season. The high temperatures of the savanna climate and this long period of drying allow sludge to be handled easily. Although this treatment is perceived to reduce the number of pathogens in dried sludge, 22% of farmers complained of itching feet and foot rot after working with FS, which is done without wearing protective foot covering. This constraint is coupled with the foul smell, transport problem and public mockery associated with the use of human waste for agriculture. In spite of these problems, there is competition for FS among farmers, due to benefits derived from its use. Further investigation is required to ascertain the causes of itching feet and foot rot, and there is a need for education on proper handling and appropriate hygiene practices when working with FS. Information regarding optimal FS application rates is also required.

Case Study: Hydraulic Modeling of Runoff Processes in Ghanaian Inland Valleys

The inland valleys of West Africa are strategic in terms of food security and poverty alleviation, but scientific studies on hydrologic processes happening in these environments have not been well documented. Modeling approaches presented in this paper are an attempt to better comprehend hydraulic phenomena occurring in inland valleys. An inland valley situated in the Northern Region of Ghana is set as the study site. The inland valley comprises well-drained uplands and hydromorphic valley bottoms. There are several earthen dams across the valley bottoms, which are at the same time seasonal wetlands cultivated to rice during the rainy season. A finite volume model for the shallow water equations is developed to numerically simulate surface runoff flows in the valley bottoms during flood events. Innovation is necessitated to handle a series of different hydraulic phenomena. Flux-splitting and data reconstruction techniques are used to achieve stable computation in the complex topography of the valley bottoms. Standard problems of oblique hydraulic jump and dam break flows are used to test the accuracy of the numerical model. The Mannings roughness coefficient is determined from calibration in another Ghanaian watershed located in the Eastern Region. Using actually observed time series data of rainfall intensity, surface flows during the rainfall events are simulated in the computational domain representing the valley bottoms of the study area. Observed data of water levels in the dams are compared to predictions, and discrepancies between them are examined from the hydrological point of view. In the case of a hypothetical flood event, cascading collapses of the dams and flooding of cultivated fields are reproduced.

Managing Threats and Opportunities of Urbanisation for Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture in Tamale, Ghana

Urbanisation involves growth and transformation of settlements into increasingly large spatially sprawling cities. By encroaching upon agricultural land, taxing water resources and enticing rural people away from farming, urbanisation poses a threat to agriculture within both the built-up and peri-urban areas. Growing climate variability, an apparent sign of climate change, exacerbates the threat. At the same time, through an increased demand for food, the potential for affordable organic manure from urban waste and a need for efficient intensive land use urbanisation may encourage agricultural production and, thereby, enhance urban food security. Preliminary findings of an on-going inter-institutional, inter-disciplinary assessment focused on Tamale, a rapidly growing city in Ghana, show that farmers seek to manage the agricultural threats and opportunities by various ingenuous survival strategies, notably livelihoods diversification, new cultivars, and land use intensification. This paper highlights the strategies and argues that if they are nurtured and integrated into policy they would positively inform sustainable urban development planning.

The Ghana Model for Resilience Enhancement in Semiarid Ghana: Conceptualization and Social Implementation

Many government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and academic and research institutions have over the past two decades conducted studies and implemented actions aimed at developing frameworks, models, and tools to assess the resilience to climate and ecosystem changes of vulnerable communities. However, actions and studies encompassing empirical field tests of the assessment instruments are relatively few. This chapter reports the outcomes of an empirically applied resilience assessment framework, hereafter referred to as the “Ghana Model,” which was initiated as part of the “Enhancing Resilience to Climate and Ecosystem Changes in Semi-Arid Africa: An Integrated Approach (CECAR-Africa)” project, implemented in Ghana’s semiarid ecosystem. The chapter provides a concise description of the “Ghana Model” as an integrated resilience assessment framework as underpinned by seven principles while highlighting the concrete actions and steps taken in operationalizing it. As a clinically valid approach for resilience assessment, the Ghana Model provides valuable evidence to aid decision and policymakers in Ghana in designing and implementing adaptation strategies for climate change in vulnerable communities and households. As a resilience assessment template, it can be applied in other ecosystems within other sub-Saharan African countries as well as other developing economies. The Ghana Model can enrich ongoing discourse on global sustainability as well as provide relevant output toward the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.

Strategies for Building Resilience against Climate and Ecosystem Changes in Sub-Saharan Africa

This book summarizes studies on climate and ecosystem change adaptation and resilience in Africa (CECAR-Africa), a collaboration with the goal of creating an integrated resilience enhancement strategy as a potential model for semi-arid regions across Sub-Saharan Africa by combining climate change and ecosystem change research. The case studies were conducted at multiple scales – local, national, and regional – and incorporate the natural sciences, social sciences and engineering in a transdisciplinary manner while also integrating the needs of local communities. The book chiefly addresses three thematic areas, namely: Forecast and assessment of climate change impacts on agro-ecosystems; Risk assessment of extreme weather hazards and development of adaptive resource management methods; and Implementing capacity development programs for local leaders and practitioners. The collaborative nature of the project and the use of various quantitative and qualitative research techniques and methods – such as field surveys, questionnaires, focus group discussions, land use and cover change analysis, and climate downscaled modeling – make the book truly unique. Especially at a time when both long-term climate change and short-term extreme weather events such as droughts and floods are worsening, this book offers potential approaches to developing an integrated framework for assessing the local ability to cope with floods and droughts, and for enhancing the resilience of farming communities in developing countries, which are the most vulnerable to these changes and extreme weather events. As such, it will be of interest to a wider audience, including academics, professionals, and government officials alike.

Internationalization and Localization of the Ghana Model: Lessons Learned, Opportunities for Upscaling, and Future Directions

The significance of incorporating adaptation responses within climate and environmental change policies is well acknowledged. The involvement of diverse and relevant stakeholders is essential in the identification, characterization, and implementation of adaptation measures for enhancing resilience and reducing vulnerability. The “Ghana Model” was developed through transdisciplinary and solutions-oriented sustainability science approaches that incorporated collaboration between researchers, scientists, development practitioners in public and private sectors, as well as governmental and nongovernmental organizations under the Enhancing Resilience to Climate and Ecosystem Change in Semi-Arid Africa: An Integrated Approach (CECAR-Africa) project. In this concluding chapter, we discuss the opportunities that exist, and the efforts that can be made, to upscale the Ghana Model to other sub-Saharan African countries with similar socioecological conditions. The lessons learned from designing and implementing the Ghana Model are discussed, and the proposed future actions designed to ensure sustainability are considered.

EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT PLANTING DISTANCE ON SOIL MOISTURE CONTENT AND YIELD OF MAIZE ( ZEA MAYS L.) IN TOLON DISTRICT OF NORTHERN REGION GHANA

Rain-fed farming systems dominate Ghanaian agriculture, especially regarding the cultivation of major staples, such as maize, yam, cassava and rice. In this environment, farmers depend strongly on seasonal rains and every alteration in precipitation distribution affects their very livelihood. Recent threats of climate change aggravate the already delicate balance of food production and security. This research determined the effects different planting distance on soil moisture and yield of maize in Tolon District. Experimental plots were laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD), with four replicates and four treatments. The four treatments comprising different planting distance: T1 (20 x 80 cm); T2 (30 x 80 cm); T3 (40 x 80 cm) and T4 (50 x 80 cm), distributed randomly and independently in each plot. The size of each plot was 4 m by 5 m (20 m 2 ), surrounded by bunds, with bund height of 10 cm, bottom width of 10 cm and top with of 5 cm. The space between plots was 1m. Soil moisture content was monitored using Tensiometers and Time Domain Reflectrometer, while non-weighing lysimeter used to establish the field water balance. Crop parameters monitored were plant height, number of leaves, days to 50 % tasseling and maturity, LAI, grain and biomass yields. The results indicated that there was significant difference for yield and yield-related parameters, but not on soil moisture content when maize was planted at four different planting distances. This suggested that planting distance has effects on maize yield but not soil moisture content. Maximum soil and air temperatures were within the optimum range for rainfed maize production in the Tolon District during the field experiment. Soil moisture content was at either field capacity or near saturation throughout the various growth stages of maize, with only small amount of water lost to deep percolation. Planting at 20 cm by 80 cm distance had a higher yield, compared to the rest of the treatments. Maize famers should adopt that planting distance to maximise yield. Farmers should also be advised to start planting of maize in July, to escape the effect of early season drought on crop establishment and growth.