http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/6 2026-04-26T18:57:44Z 2026-04-26T18:57:44Z NYUOR, A. B. http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/4622 2026-04-24T11:11:37Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: URBANIZATION AND AGRICULTURAL LAND LOSS: IMPACT ON PERI-URBAN HOUSEHOLD’S FOOD SECURITY AND WELFARE IN NORTHERN GHANA Authors: NYUOR, A. B. Abstract: Rapid urban expansion in Northern Ghana is increasingly converting peri-urban agricultural land into built-up infrastructure, raising concerns about the implications for farming households whose livelihoods and food security depend on access to farmland. In cities such as Tamale, Wa, and Bolgatanga, residential and commercial development has intensified pressure on croplands, potentially undermining staple crop production, food access, and household welfare. Despite these concerns, empirical evidence linking farmland loss to food security and welfare outcomes in Northern Ghana remains limited. This study investigates the extent of peri-urban farmland loss to urban built infrastructure and its impact on household staple crop production, food security, and welfare using a mixed-methods cross-sectional design. Data were collected from 389 peri-urban farming households through a multi-stage sampling procedure involving purposive selection of the three cities, purposive selection of two peri-urban communities from each city, proportionate sampling of households within communities, and simple random sampling of households. Households were categorized into those experiencing farmland loss and those retaining their farmland. The study combines GIS-based land-use analysis (1994–2024) to assess farmland transformation, Residualized Quantile Regression to estimate the distributional effects of farmland loss on maize yield, Extended Ordered Probit Regression to examine food security outcomes measured by Food Consumption Score (FCS) and Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), and Principal Component Analysis with multivariate regression to analyze household perceptions of urbanization’s welfare effects. The results reveal substantial cropland decline alongside rapid urban expansion across the three cities. In Tamale, cropland declined by 50.8% between 1994 and 2004 while built-up areas expanded by 103.7%, with further cropland loss of 26.4% between 2004 and 2014. In Wa, cropland declined by 42.6% between 1994 and 2004, while built-up areas expanded by 55.1%, followed by a 339.5% expansion between 2004 and 2014. In Bolgatanga, cropland declined by 16.3%, 26.9%, and 18.6% across successive decades as urban infrastructure expanded. Residualized Quantile Regression results indicate that farmland loss negatively affects maize yield across all quantiles, with stronger effects among median and high yield farmers (50th and 75th quantiles). Food security analysis indicates significant vulnerability among households experiencing farmland loss. Only 16% of households fall within the acceptable food consumption category, while 9.2% and 25.3% fall within borderline and poor consumption categories respectively. Similarly, 67.6% of households are less likely to be food secure, with 32.7% and 34.9% falling within moderate and severe food insecurity categories based on the HFIAS. Perception analysis shows that while urbanization may improve access to services such as education, healthcare, and road infrastructure, households remain skeptical about its potential to generate formal employment and small-scale industrial development. The diagnostic statistics of the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value of 0.841 indicated the suitability of the data for Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The PCA extracted three main components namely; economic opportunity and market integration, access to basic services and livelihood diversification and social capital, which jointly explained 63.9% of the total variance. Overall, the study provides new empirical evidence on how peri-urban farmland transformation affects agricultural productivity, food security, and household welfare in Northern Ghana, highlighting the trade-offs between urban expansion and rural livelihood sustainability. The findings underscore the need for land-use governance by the Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority (LUSPA), the Lands Commission, and Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies to safeguard productive agricultural land through integrated spatial planning and enforcement of zoning regulations. In addition, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) should promote livelihood diversification and climate-resilient urban and peri-urban agriculture programmes to support households affected by farmland loss and strengthen food security in rapidly expanding cities. Description: REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z ABDULAI, H. http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/4619 2026-04-24T09:38:58Z 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: INCREASING YIELDS OF MAIZE (Zea mays L.) AND GROUNDNUT (Arachis hypogea L.): THE ROLE OF SOME SECONDARY, MICRONUTRIENTS AND CROPPING SYSTEMS Authors: ABDULAI, H. Abstract: Due to the fact that maize and groundnut yields in Northern Ghana and Ghana as a whole are significantly below potential levels, closing yield gap is viewed as a critical part of ensuring a sustainable and reliable food supply to fulfil the anticipated demand. A comprehensive study was conducted to investigate various aspects of maize production in northern Ghana. The study comprised one socio-economic and agronomic survey and three field experiments. Two, maize nutrient omission on the magnitude and spatial-temporal patterns of maize yield responses to balanced and imbalanced nutrient applications. Three, contribution of secondary and micronutrients (S, Zn and B) fertilization in enhancing yield and yield quality of maize and four, effects on yields of maize groundnut cropping systems based on co-fertilization. These survey and experiments were conducted during 2020, 2021 and 2022 at 4R-NS project sites at Eastern corridor of northern Ghana, the research farms of the CSIR-SARI experimental sites at both Nyankpala and Damongo. In experiment one, the exploitable maize yield gap at farm-level reaches up to 7 t ha-1 and less than one percent of the farmer fields could achieve maize grain yield of 4 t ha-1. The results have shown a mean yield of maize less than 1.5 tons ha-1 from all the four districts with a wide variation at a farmer level, ranged between 0.25 tons ha-1 and 4.0 tons ha-1 which proved the possibilities for yield improvement. In experiment 2, nutrient omission trials were conducted on 24 farms located in East Gonja, Kpandai, Nanumba North and Nanumba South selected to be representative of the main soil and management factors in maize based systems of Northern Ghana. Treatments comprised PK, NK, NP, NPK, and NPK plus SMN administrations in addition to a control (no fertilizer). The responses of maize yield to NPK plus SMN treatments showed clear spatial-temporal patterns. The first cropping season showed mean maize yields of 0.9, 1.2, 1.9, 3, 2.9, and 3.6 t ha−1, whereas the second cropping season gave mean yields of 0.4, 0.8, 1.2, 31.9, 2.5, and 3.1 t ha−1 across the control, PK, NK, NP, NPK, and NPK + SMN treatments. The third season gave values of 0.5, 0.6, 0.8, 1.2, 1.6, and 1.9 t ha−1 in contrast. In experiment 3, the field was laid in a split plot design with three replications. The main plot factor treatments were two NPK rates: 60, 40, 40 kg ha -1 and 90, 60, 60 kg ha -1 and the sub plot factor treatments were ten combinations of secondary and micronutrients (sulphur, and zinc and boron) and control (no MN). In Nyankpala, yields of 4.5 and 5.0 tons ha-1 were achieved with inclusion of S, Zn and B in both years while in Damongo, yields of 3.26 and 2.58 t ha-1 were achieved. For NPK-only treatment, average yields of 2.30 and 2.53 were achieved in Nyankpala for both years while 1.28 and 1.48 were achieved in Damongo. In experiment four, five cropping systems (viz. sole continuous maize (SCM), sole continuous groundnut (SCG), maize-groundnut intercrop (MGI), groundnut/maize rotation (GMR) and maize/groundnut rotation (MGR)), each with or without fertilizer were established under RCBD at Nyankpala during the 2021 and 2022 cropping seasons. The results showed that intercrop and rotation treatments gave significant yields. The land equivalent ratios (LER) for the intercrops were 1.2 and 1.09 respectively, in the two seasons. To optimize soil health and crop productivity, farmers should adopt integrated soil fertility management practices, including: Application of NPK fertilizer supplemented with essential micronutrients like sulfur (S), zinc (Zn), and boron (B). Implementation of intercropping and rotation systems featuring maize and groundnut.These practices will enhance resource use efficiency, mitigate soil degradation, improve soil fertility, and ultimately boost overall productivity. Description: REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Ph.D.) IN CROP SCIENCE

2024-01-01T00:00:00Z OBRANI, L. http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/4610 2026-04-23T10:04:06Z 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: ROLE OF STAKEHOLDERS IN INFLUENCING THE CHOICE TO PURSUE AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE IN SHS AMONG FEMALE JHS STUDENTS IN THE TOLON DISTRICT Authors: OBRANI, L. Abstract: The agricultural sector is a cornerstone of Ghana's economy, contributing significantly to GDP and employment. However, there exists a notable disparity in female participation in agricultural science at the secondary school level, which presents challenges to sectoral growth and gender parity. This study investigates the factors influencing female students' decisions to pursue agricultural science and examines the roles played by various stakeholders in shaping these decisions. Study design is mixed method in nature and employed a questionnaire and the primary research instrument. A multistage cluster sampling design was utilized with sampling size determined using the cochran’s formula and participants were selected using random sampling to ensure a representative and unbiased sampling. Primary data were collected from 138 female students, 38 teachers, and 138 parents in the Tolon district of Ghana's Northern region. The study applied descriptive statistics, Likert scales, Kendall's coefficient of concordance, and logistic regression for data analysis. Results indicate that peers, teachers, and parents significantly influence students' educational choices. Gender biases, insufficient career guidance, and prevailing social norms were identified as key obstacles contributing to low enrollment of female students in agricultural science. Specifically, factors such as class size, perception of agriculture as a challenging subject, and the stereotype that agriculture is primarily a male domain negatively impact female students' decisions to pursue agricultural science at the Senior High School level. Conversely, factors such as parental occupation, friends' influence in program selection, and awareness of opportunities in agribusiness positively influence students' choice of agricultural science. The study concluded that low enrolment in agricultural science at the SHS level is attributed to its perception as a masculine program, reserved primarily for males. Additionally, it is viewed that agriculture offers limited career prospects due to the inadequate scope of education and career enlightenment received before the selection of educational courses. Based on these findings, the study recommends that the Ghanaian government, particularly through the Ministries of Food and Agriculture and Education, formulate policies aimed at encouraging female students to pursue agricultural studies in senior high schools. Furthermore, local agricultural institutions should organize regular career guidance sessions focused on agriculture, and parents should actively support their children in pursuing academic paths aligned with their interests and strengths. Description: AWARD OF MPHIL AGRICULTURE SCIENCE EDUCATION HONOURS

2024-01-01T00:00:00Z ALHASSAN, H. http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/4608 2026-04-23T09:33:22Z 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: IMPACT OF FERTILIZER FORMULATION AND RATE OF APPLICATION ON FIELD PERFORMANCE AND NITROGEN USE EFFICIENCY OF MAIZE (Zea mays L.) Authors: ALHASSAN, H. Abstract: Maize takes up a lot of nutrients from the soil, and therefore requires sufficient nutrients supply throughout the growth and development stages. Nutrient deprivation at any stage of growth could have an adverse effect on the crop’s yield. Fertilizer briquetting is a useful innovation that ensures steady supply of nutrients at every stage of growth and development of the maize plant. This study is aimed at determining the right fertilizer formulation and the right rate of application that can ensure good yield while enhancing the efficient use of nutrients. The study involved two trials, both conducted on-station at Nyankpala in the Guinea Savannah ecological zone of Ghana’s Northern Region during the 2022 farming season. Experiment one consisted of seven treatments that compared different briquette fertilizer rates. Experiment two had eight treatments which compared similar rates of granular and briquette fertilizers. Both trials were laid in randomized complete block design with four replications per treatment. The differences between the different rates of briquette fertilizer in Experiment 1 were not statistically different as far as yield was concerned, meaning that applying lower rate of briquette fertilizer did not result in any detrimental effect on growth and yield of maize. The lower rates of briquette fertilizer also recorded far superior performances in Nitrogen Use Efficiency. In Experiment 2, the comparative analysis of similar rates of briquette and granular fertilizer did not show a pattern of superior performances by either of the formulations as far as the growth parameters were concerned. The briquette treatments however, in nominal terms, produced better performances in grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency. This suggests that fertilizer briquetting ensures efficient use of nutrients by crops even at lower rates of application. It is therefore recommended for the adoption of briquetting fertilizer in order to ensure efficient use of nutrients Description: AWARD OF MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY IN CROP SCIENCE

2024-01-01T00:00:00Z