Books and Book Chaptershttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12478/12024-03-29T05:09:36Z2024-03-29T05:09:36ZSocial challenges and opportunities in agroforestry: cocoa farmers’ perspectivesBosselmann, A.S.Boadi, S.A.Olwig, M.F.Asare, R.https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12478/84492024-03-22T02:01:13Z2024-01-01T00:00:00ZSocial challenges and opportunities in agroforestry: cocoa farmers’ perspectives
Bosselmann, A.S.; Boadi, S.A.; Olwig, M.F.; Asare, R.
Agroforestry practices in cocoa cultivation have historical roots going back to the Mayan sacred groves in Mesoamerica. Today, agroforestry cocoa, i.e., the integration of shade trees, plants and crops in cocoa systems, is promoted as a climate smart practice by public and
private institutions. Shaded cocoa can sustain or even increase cocoa yields and the agroforestry systems may provide additional output for household consumption and sale as well as improve the microclimate and soil conditions on the farm. Despite these promising features, cocoa agroforestry systems are far from the norm in producing countries like Ghana. Based on discussions with groups of farmers across the Ghanaian cocoa belt, this
chapter shows that while farmers are well aware of the positive aspects of shaded cocoa systems, traditional cocoa practices, village chiefs’ command of local land uses, land and tree tenure systems, alternative land uses and inability to access inputs and extension services limit the adoption and constrain the management of shade trees. As still more policies are developed to improve the Ghanaian cocoa sector, policymakers must consider
these often overlooked social and institutional factors that prevent cocoa farmers from engaging in longer-term agroforestry practices and thereby benefiting from the opportunities they present.
2024-01-01T00:00:00ZHost plant resistance to insects in pulse cropsTogola, A.Ongom, P.O.Mohammed, S.B.Fatokun, C.Tamo, M.Boukar, O.https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12478/84472024-03-21T09:56:58Z2024-01-01T00:00:00ZHost plant resistance to insects in pulse crops
Togola, A.; Ongom, P.O.; Mohammed, S.B.; Fatokun, C.; Tamo, M.; Boukar, O.
Pulses are important sources of protein, dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals for human nutrition and are widely cultivated in many countries around the world. Crops belonging to pulse include mainly chickpeas, mung bean, lentils, pigeon peas, and cowpeas. Pulse production and storage are negatively affected by a variety of biotic and abiotic factors, such as insect pests, diseases, parasites, low soil fertility, heat, and drought. Among these, insect pests have the most significant impact on pulse productivity worldwide. The extent of insect pest damage is a major challenge for pulse farmers and can lead to significant quantitative and qualitative losses. While synthetic insecticides are commonly used to control insect pests in pulses, their harmful effects on humans, animals, and the environment, as well as the development of insecticide resistance in pests, have prompted research efforts to identify eco-friendly alternatives. One such alternative is host plant resistance, which involves developing pulses with genetic traits that make them resistant to insect pests. The chapter underlined the importance of host plant resistance as a sustainable approach to protecting pulse crops against insect pests. It reviews past and recent studies that have contributed to improving pulse crops and sustaining their production through host plant resistance measures. Genomic tools and resources could be further utilized to develop insect resistance in all types of pulses and accelerate the pace of research in this area.
2024-01-01T00:00:00ZHousehold economics of cocoa agroforestry: costs and benefitsBoadi, S.A.Bosselmann, A.S.Owusu, K.Asare, R.Olwig, M.F.https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12478/84442024-03-21T02:01:05Z2024-01-01T00:00:00ZHousehold economics of cocoa agroforestry: costs and benefits
Boadi, S.A.; Bosselmann, A.S.; Owusu, K.; Asare, R.; Olwig, M.F.
Current research suggests that cocoa agroforestry systems could offer stable yields, additional benefits and income from shade trees, despite potential added costs, such as from the purchase of insecticides. There is a paucity of profitability studies of different cocoa agroforestry systems. Only few of them go beyond a narrow focus on cocoa yields to model the entire agroforestry system and thus do not advance our understanding of the socio-economic value of other ecosystem goods. Based on survey data covering a thousand cocoa plots and group interviews with cocoa farmers, we explore the costs and benefits at the household level of including trees in cocoa systems. Comparing low and medium tree
diversity systems, we find that income from cocoa beans, timber and fruit trees are higher and labour costs are lower in plots with medium diversity, while insecticide costs are lower on low-diversity plots. Overall, net benefits were higher on cocoa plots with higher tree diversity. Thus, cocoa agroforestry systems offer cost-reduction and income-improving advantages. Since cocoa systems vary among different agro-ecological zones in Ghana, we recommend that interventions aimed at increasing tree diversity consider the specific management practices of each farming household and the location in question.
2024-01-01T00:00:00ZDesigning dioscorea genomes for improved nutritional and pharmaceutical propertiesBhattacharjee, R.https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12478/84202024-03-05T02:00:50Z2023-12-15T00:00:00ZDesigning dioscorea genomes for improved nutritional and pharmaceutical properties
Bhattacharjee, R.
Dioscorea species, commonly known as “Yams,” belong to family Dioscoreaceae consisting of about 600 species distributed from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean’s South America, and the South Pacific islands. The tuber of this genus is well known for their organoleptic properties, making them the most widely used food for carbohydrate, dietary supplements, and famine food. West Africa represents the region where yams are mostly consumed because of their underground and/or aerial tubers representing valuable sources of proteins, fats, and vitamins for millions of people. In addition to their nutritional properties, yams are the potential source of several bioactive compounds used in the treatment of many diseases, thus providing an opportunity for their use in pharmaceutical industries. However, the pharmaceutical properties of these bioactive compounds in yams need to be well researched and validated. Yams are known
for the presence of secondary metabolites such as steroid saponin, allantoin, quinones, cyanidins, phenolics, and nitrogen-containing compounds as well as diosgenin representing different properties including antioxidant, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, antimicrobial, inflammatory, antiproliferative, androgenic, estrogenic, and contraceptive properties. This chapter summarizes the available information on nutritional and pharmaceutical properties of yams through published manuscripts and provides recommendations for future research directions for better utilization of yam tubers in human health and nutrition.
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