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The once flourishing small-scale poultry industry in Ghana has over the past two decades undergone a severe deterioration as a result of fortunes that has diverted the industry from near self-sufficiency in the early 1990s to a net importer of poultry products. Since the later part of 1990s the Ghana market has followed a steep and uncontrolled influx of cheap poultry meat from subsidized poultry producers from advanced countries (Osei, unpublished) including USA and EU, not to mention countries such as Brazil and Canada. A multiplicity of factors have accounted for the decline and mortalities of the domestic poultry industry. These include unfair competition from subsidized poultry producers from advanced countries, unfavourable and indifferent government policy direction, escalating costs of production, inefficient methods of production, lack of funds and credit, inadequate knowledge in poultry management, socio-cultural factors, lack of information needs on the part of small-scale poultry farmers, inadequate access to market, lack of processing facilities, and high rates of perishability. Therefore, the present study examines the factors that affect the growth of the small agribusiness in Ghana, focusing mainly on the small-scale poultry industry. The purpose of the study is to provide guidelines and recommendations for improving poultry farming at the level of small-scale poultry farmers in Ghana through the organized social movement (new generation cooperative movement). The study further seeks to solicit government interventions through political arguments so as to sustain and strengthen the failing small-scale poultry industry in Ghana. The purpose of the organized social movement is to bundle competencies and resources that are more valuable in joint effort than when kept separate by the small-scale poultry farmers in racing against competitors who are driving them out of business. This is due to an on-going severe competition as a result of unprotected market and political bias of trade liberalization, structural adjustment policies and deregulations on the part of the government. A sample of 120 poultry farmers was selected by a stratified random sampling approach. This was followed by 75 stakeholders through a snowball approach and data was collected by using a semi-structured interviews. The findings of the study shows that the organized social movement (SM) of small-scale poultry farmers, provision of government subsidies, placing a ban or increase tariffs on imports of poultry meat, access to cheap loans, provision of infrastructure, access to incentives and awards, training and education of poultry farmers, advertising campaign, and dissemination of information, had positive and significant impact on the competitiveness and growth of the small-scale poultry industry.

Master of Science / Department of Agricultural Economics / Vincent R. Amanor-Boadu / This study assessed the farm and farmer characteristics influencing the profitability of broiler chicken farms in Ghana. It used data obtained from the 2015 census of the poultry industry conducted by USAID-METSS in collaboration with Ghana's Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers. Results show that broiler production in Ghana is operated on a small scale basis with an average number of 1,410 birds. Broiler chicken production is profitable in Ghana with national average gross margin/bird of GHS 9.22 and standard deviation of 8.40. Regression analysis was carried out using Ordinary Least Square method to estimate the effect of farm and farmer characteristics on profitability and also explore regional differences. Results shows that farm income and feed were negative and statistically significant such that a farmer with primary income from broiler chicken production had a decrease in gross margin of GHS 1.24 per bird compared to a farmer with other sources of income; a farmer that increases one unit of own feed production will have a decrease in gross margin of GHS 0.06 per bird. Additionally, regional differences exist such that farms situated in Ashanti, Central, and Eastern had higher gross margin per bird of GHS 3.21, GHS 6.10 and GHS 6.26 respectively compared to farms situated in Brong Ahafo Region. In conclusion, the study shows that both farmer (primary source of income) and farm characteristics (such as regional location and the extent to which feed was prepared on the farm) were important in explaining broiler chicken profitability. Finally, continuous research is recommended to examine the robustness of these factors in explaining profitability.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / The buzzword in recent development policy-making is PM&E. The notion is that; participatory approaches have the appropriate remedy to curb the problem of exclusion. That notwithstanding, the approach has become rhetoric in certain quarters rather than practical as admitted by some scholars who hold the principle in high esteem. Inferences from the concept of empowerment as put forward by Narayan (2005), might be the premise for rethinking the debate surrounding the inclusion of beneficiaries in participatory monitoring and evaluation because of its undulation positive effect on project outcomes. Over the past two decades, Ghana has initiated and implemented a good number of national policies and strategies that are youth-centered. The majority of these youth programmes are usually delineated in most public policies on thematic areas such as employment, education, health, among many others. A total of 120 respondents (project beneficiaries) were randomly selected for questionnaire administration, and 1 in-depth interviewed was conducted for this study. Using a Participation Perception Index (PPI), developed to assess the youth perception of the extent to which they were involved in the PM&E, the following were ascertained. It was evident that the youth were only made to actively participate in the data collection (as respondents) process. Evidently, the primary objective of the implementing agency was to secure the youth (beneficiaries) job rather than involving them in the project PM&E. The qualitative analysis also highlighted other critical factors affecting both the implementing agency and the youth (skills or know-how, cost, lack of beneficiaries' interest, non-existence of beneficiaries' associations) to ensure active participation. The study concluded that the end goal of the youth intervention programme is tied into the ideas of project sustainability which can be achieved when the various stakeholders are all on board in the PM&E.

The availability to clean drinking water is something a lot of people take for granted today. Daily, there are about 1.8 billion people around the world that drinks water from a contaminated water source. Unfortunately, the deficiency is a fact, and about 361 000 children under the age of five die each year because of diarrheal disease (WHO, 2016a).  Earlier studies show that a biosand filter is an easy and efficient water purification method that cleans the water both physically, biologically and chemically. A biosand filter is often built using local material and is filled with sand, which makes the construction cheap and easy to repair is needed. Earlier studies have shown that this purification method can reduce waterborne disease by 99,9% with the help of a biofilm layer which develop in the top layer of the sand if the conditions are meet (CAWST, 2009). The purpose with this study was to build and evaluate a biosand filter as a water treatment method in Ghana. In total, three biosand filters was built with local material, each with different sand heights. The evaluation was done by studying the waters physical, biological and chemical properties before and after the filtration, which then was compared to the water quality standards from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Sweden. The results show that none of the three filters could produce water which met the standards for drinking water, which might be caused by the high flow of water through the filter which prevented the biofilm to grow. With the help from the results in Ghana, a new design of a water filter has been made to reduce the flow of water through the filter. Which gave a new biosand filter design with a diameter of 42 cm that, sand height of 80 cm and gravel height of 15 cm. / Tillgången till rent dricksvatten är idag något som många tar som en självklarhet. I dagsläget är det omkring 1.8 miljarder människor i världen som dagligen dricker vatten från en kontaminerad vattenkälla. Dessvärre är bristen på rent dricksvatten ett faktum, vilket gör att det årligen dör cirka 361 000 barn under fem års ålder på grund av diarrésjukdomar världen över (WHO, 2016a).  Tidigare studier har visat på att biosandfilter är en enkel och effektiv vattenreningsmetod för att rena vatten både fysiskt, biologiskt och kemiskt. Ett biosandfilter är ofta byggt med lokala material och fylld med sand, vilket gör konstruktionen billig och enkel att reparera vid behov. Tidigare studier har visat på att vattenreningsmetoden kan reducera vattenburna sjukdomar med upp till 99.9% med hjälp av ett biofilmslager som utvecklas i sandlagrets övre skikt om förhållandena är gynnsamma (CAWST, 2009).  Syftet med denna studie var att bygga och utvärdera biosandfilter som vattenreningsmetod i Ghana. Totalt byggdes tre biosandfilter av lokala material med olika sandhöjder. Utvärderingen gjordes utifrån att studera vattnets fysiska, kemiska och biologiska egenskaper före och efter filtrationen, som sedan jämfördes med vattenkvalitetsstandarder från World Health Organization (WHO) och Sverige. Resultaten visade på att ingen av de tre sandfiltret kunde producera vatten med en drickvattenstandard, detta tros bero på det höga flödet genom filtret som hindrat biofilmstillväxten. Med hjälp av resultat från Ghana har en ny design av ett biosandfilter tagits fram för att minska flödet genom filtret. Vilket gav en filterdiameter som är ungefär 42 cm som sedan är fylld med 80 cm sand och 15 cm grus.

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / This research, which principally focuses on local enterprise and skill development programme (LESDEP) in Ghana, aims at assessing the contributions LESDEP has made towards reducing youth unemployment in the Elmina Municipality of the central region of Ghana. Using quantitative and qualitative research methods, the research assessed the extent to which the programme has contributed to improvements in beneficiaries‟ livelihoods, living standards and their well-being in the case study area. This research, which was primarily focused on local enterprise and skill development programme (LESDEP) in Ghana, aims at assessing the contribution LESDEP has made in towards reducing youth unemployment in the Elmina Municipality of the central region of Ghana. Through both quantitative and qualitative research methods, the research assessed the extent to which the programme has contributed to improvements in beneficiaries‟ livelihoods, living standards and their well-being in the case study area

L'objectif de ce travail de thèse était de réaliser une étude structurale détaillée des minéralisations et des zones d'altération associées, de trois gisements d'or situés au Nord-Ouest du Ghana, sur la marge orientale du Craton Ouest Africain: Kunche et Bepkong, situés dans la ceinture de Wa-Lawra, et Julie situé dans la ceinture de Julie. Ces trois gisements présentent de multiples différences d'ordre géologique, structural, tectonique et géochimique, mais leur caractéristique commune est que leur minéralisation est associée à un métamorphisme de faciès schiste vert. A Julie, la minéralisation aurifère est encaissée dans des granitoïdes de composition tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) alors qu'à Kunche et Bepkong elle est localisée au sein de formations sédimentaires volcanoclastiques et de schistes graphiteux fortement silicifiés. Cette minéralisation est associée à un réseau de veines souvent boudinées de quartz formées en relation avec une zone de cisaillement orientée Est-Ouest à Julie, mais N à NNO à Kunche et Bepkong, constituant un couloir de déformation de 0.5 à 3,5 km de longueur et de 20 à 300 m de puissance suivant les gisements. La paragenèse d'altération dominante de la zone minéralisée est à séricite, quartz, carbonate et sulfures, et suivant la nature de la roche hôte se rajouteront par exemple la tourmaline dans les granitoïdes et la chlorite dans les schistes ou les métavolcanites. A Julie, l'or est étroitement associé à la pyrite alors qu'à Kunche et Bepkong l'or est associé à l'arsénopyrite. Deux générations d'or sont distinguées ; la première correspond à de l'or invisible associé aux zones de croissance primaire des cristaux de pyrite à Julie et d'arsénopyrite à Bepkong, et de l'or visible tardif en inclusion et plus fréquemment en remplissage de fractures. / The objective of this thesis was to perform a detailed structural, mineralization and associated alteration studies of three gold deposits located in northwest Ghana, on the eastern margin of the West African Craton. Thus, the Kunche and Bepkong deposits, located in the Wa-Lawra belt and Julie deposit located in the Julie belt. These three deposits have multiple differences interms of geological, structural, tectonic and geochemical characteristics but gold mineralization in these deposits are all associated with a green schist facies metamorphism. In Julie, the gold mineralization is hosted in granitoids with its composition akin to tonalite-granodiorite-trondhjemite (TTG) where as in the Kunche and Bepkong deposits, the gold mineralization are localized within volcaniclastic sedimentary formations and strongly silicified graphitic schists. The gold mineralization is associated with a network of quartz veins often boudinaged and formed in connection with a shear zones, oriented E-W in the Julie deposit and N to NNW at Kunche and Bepkong deposits. The dominant alteration in the mineralized zone is sericite, quartz, carbonate and sulfides with influences from the host rock. For example, the granitoid is influenced by tourmaline and chlorite in the schists or in themetavolcanic rocks. At Julie, gold is closely associated with pyrite whereas Kunche and Bepkong gold is associated with arsenopyrite. Two generations of gold are distinguished; the first corresponds to the invisible gold associated with primary growth areas in the pyrite crystals in Julie and arsenopyrite in Kunche and Bepkong, and late visible gold inclusions which are frequently found in fracture fillings. In Julie, the mineralizing fluid is rich in CO2, and has low to moderate salinity (NaCl-H2O-CO2 system), trapped in P / T conditions around 220 ° C and <1 kbar; whilst in Bepkong, the mineralizing fluid is associated with quartz are rich in CH4, with a low salinity (CH4-CO2-SO2-H2O system) which indicates that the visible trapping temperatures is around 320°C.

This thesis addresses the lack of attention to practices that take place in settings not considered primarily religious, such as life-cycle rituals in the growing body of literature on religious practices of recently emerging African diaspora communities in the West. It argues that these practices are not only filters for indigenous African religious beliefs but also furnish for African migrants contexts that perform functions similar to those performed by the formal African diaspora religious institutions. Using ethnography, the study investigated the role of death rituals in the lives of Ghanaian members of the United Ghanaians Association of South Florida. The findings show that funerals organized in South Florida for relatives of members of the Association enable this trans-migrant community to participate in the lives of their relatives in Ghana. Funerals also furnish for these migrants contexts for performing aspects of their culture helping to cultivate a shared sense of being together or identity, in the process. The study suggests that to understand the full dynamics of African migrant religious experience, a respectful attention must be paid to all the rites of passage that African migrants perform in the West, not only those within formal religious institutions.

Comment récupérer les legs du passé pour construire le présent sur un héritage traditionnel, en s’adaptant aux nouvelles réalités du présent et orientant le futur? Ce travail se penche sur une réponse propre à ce problème, celle des communautés akans du Ghana. Nous tenterons de montrer que c’est par une évaluation normative : « quels sont les bons et les mauvais éléments du passé? » que ces communautés ont entrepris de juger quels étaient les éléments méritant d’être récupérés. Les communautés akans ont conservé cette idée (de juger les évènements du passé selon une évaluation normative) dans la tradition notamment par le biais d’un idéogramme nommé sankↄfa dans la langue locale. Elle se retrouve au cœur de la culture et notamment par le biais des pratiques et rituels. Le politique est définit comme l’ensemble des actions humaines participant à la construction du système normatif, fondé sur une hiérarchisation collective dynamique des valeurs et canalisant les désirs et passions des êtres humains vers des possibilités d’action spécifiques. Les performances politiques (rituels et transmission de la tradition) contribuent à édifier, solidifier ou transvaluer l’autorité du système moral. Dans ce travail, nous soutenons que les communautés akans renforcent l’autorité politique de leur tradition par le biais de performances politiques. En déterminant ce qu’est le « Bien » et le « Mal », les Akans canalisent les possibilités d’action et orientent les comportements collectifs de leur communauté. Ce travail étudie un aspect de la relation entre culture et temps dans les communautés akans du Ghana. En analysant leur processus d’interprétation du passé, par lequel un héritage moral est récupéré pour être adapté au présent et orienter les actions futures des membres de leurs communautés, nous constatons qu’une tradition peut s’adapter à l’avenir tout en préservant les « bons » éléments du passé, et ce, comme suite d’un jugement moral continu, consistant en la discrimination morale des antécédents. Ce jugement continuel peut alors être considéré comme une pratique politique, et non seulement comme une pratique culturelle.

Everyday practice often goes unquestioned. Yet in Gold Coast society during the early twentieth century, everyday habits and practices served as an important device for both subalterns and elites to negotiate status or contest colonial control. Between 1900 and 1920, the Gold Coast was experiencing many changes that offered opportunities for actors to influence, negotiate, or contest emerging everyday habits and experiences. The monitoring and modification of everyday habits provided a way for the British colonial government to consolidate its rule in the Gold Coast following the period of military expansion in the late nineteenth century. For many Gold Coasters, increased access to education, the expansion of wage labour and the cocoa industry, led to a reconfiguration of social status and relations affecting daily life. While scholars are increasingly examining the theme of everyday practices, many tend to focus on the experiences of subaltern peoples. This study focuses instead on the role of an emerging, yet subjected, urban elite comprised of educated Africans. Caught between their understanding of African “tradition” and Western ideas of modernity, educated African elite attempted to influence everyday experiences and habits as a way to claim greater authority and enhance their position in the colony. Furthermore, this study examines how colonial administrators, too, used everyday habits and experiences to reinforce colonial governance in Gold Coast. In early twentieth century Gold Coast society, everyday habits and practices served as a battleground for contests for authority and influence as educated Africans and colonizers narrativized their own concepts of modernity and visions of the Gold Coast’s future in the pages of colonial reports, diaries, missionary correspondence, and Gold Coast newspapers. Using this and other primary source material, this thesis demonstrates how space, personhood, and food became important arenas through which various actors – African and European – vied to control, construct, and influence everyday habits and experiences in early twentieth century Gold Coast.