A research project has been launched to revitalise taro production in Ghana.

Taro, locally known as ‘brobe, or ‘kooko’, is a traditionally underutilised but highly promising crop widely cultivated in Ghana. In 2022, its annual production was more than 1.7 million tons.

A Project, spearheaded by scientists from the School of Agriculture at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), has been launched to revive taro production and enhance the crop’s commercial value. This will ultimately contribute to addressing Ghana’s food security challenges and enhance agricultural sustainability. The team from UCC includes Prof. Paul A. Asare, Dr. Emmanuel Afutu, and Dr. Kwadwo K. Amoah - all from the Department of Crop Science.

The Project came to light after UCC and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) signed a letter of Agreement (LOA). The Project aligns with the FAO’s international treaty goals of conserving and sustainably utilising plant genetic resources while ensuring fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from their use.

It is a collaborative effort of several key partners, including the Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (PGRRI-CSIR), which would play a pivotal role in germplasm conservation and distribution and the Crops Research Institute (CRI-CSIR).

The Project lead, Prof. Michael O. Adu, speaking at the inception meeting to launch the Project, emphasised the need for innovative agricultural solutions in the face of rising food insecurity, as well as untold poverty exacerbated by climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and global conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine war.

“The declining agrobiodiversity of staple food crops in Ghana has necessitated a shift towards more resilient and sustainable agricultural practices. With its zero-waste potential and adaptability to various growing conditions, taro presents a viable solution,” stated Prof. Adu, an ecophysiologist and crop improvement scientist at UCC.

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Head of the Department of Crop Science-UCC and the Project lead, Prof. Michael O. Adu, speaking at the inception meeting to launch the Project

According to him, the Project would focus on capturing, preserving, and evaluating taro's genetic variation through mutagenesis to develop novel, high-yielding germplasm.

“This includes enhancing tolerance to taro leaf blight disease and drought, thereby improving yields. Additionally, bespoke food processing technologies will add value to taro corms, benefiting small-scale farmers and processors,” he continued.

Prof. Adu indicated that the project would also leverage the expertise of hordes of faculty members from other Departments within the School of Agriculture.

He pointed out that representatives from the PGRRI-CSIR, including the Director, Dr. Daniel Ashie Kotey, and Ms Fuleratu Adams, would play key roles in germplasm conservation and distribution.

Prof. Adu added that Dr. Ernest Baafi of the CRI-CSIR would facilitate molecular studies and the determination of specific genetic traits.

“The Biotechnology and Nuclear Agricultural Research Institute of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (BNARI-GAEC) will contribute expertise in mutation breeding and leveraging their Gamma Irradiation Facility. Drs Godwin Amenorpe and Nusrat Tsemah will assist from the BNARI-GAEC,” he told the gathering.

According to him, engagement with farmers and processors was a sine qua non for the Project's success.

He explained that: “On-farm trials, field demonstrations, and participatory research activities will ensure that the new taro varieties and products meet the needs of local communities. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and the FAO will assist in disseminating information and promoting the Project’s outcomes locally and internationally.”

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 Group photo of participants after the interactions

He observed that the Central Regional Director of Agriculture, Dr. Peter Omega, was fully committed to the success of the Project.

Prof. Adu indicated that the Project aligned with Ghana’s national plans and policies on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA).

By improving taro productivity and resilience, the project will support several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including ending hunger (SDG 2), taking climate action (SDG 13), and fostering sustainable agriculture.

“We are committed to making a tangible impact on the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in Ghana,” Prof. Adu remarked.

He noted: “Through this project, we aim to provide affordable, nutritious staples, reduce poverty, and enhance environmental sustainability.”

The Dean of the School of Agriculture, Prof. Henry De-Graft Acquah, welcomed the project partners, stating: “We are delighted to host such a revered group of experts and collaborators here at UCC. This Project embodies the spirit of innovation and cooperation that defines our School of Agriculture. We look forward to working together to improve food security and promote sustainable agriculture in Ghana.”

He noted that this ambitious initiative would position UCC and its partners to contribute significantly to Ghana’s food security, agricultural sustainability, and rural livelihoods, setting a precedent for future agricultural innovations across the continent.

The project will train PhD and MPhil students, while offering capacity-building opportunities for extension agents, scientists, farmers and Agro-processors.

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

The University of Cape Coast (UCC) Chapter of the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA) has organised a health talk on Hypertension.

The event, which formed part of activities marking the Professional Week Celebration of GAUA-UCC, was to raise awareness on prompt hypertension prevention, early detection and treatment.

This is particularly significant in Ghana where one of every three adults has hypertension. 

Speaking at the event, the Director of UCC Health Services, Dr. James Kojo Prah, expressed concern about the high prevalence of hypertension in Ghana. 

He explained that hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, was a long-term medical condition characterized by persistently elevated blood pressure within the arteries.

“The Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) will be more than or equal to 130mmHg and Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP) will be more than or equal to 90mmHg,” he emphasized.

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Director of UCC Health Services, Dr. James Kojo Prah

Dr. Prah mentioned risk factors of hypertension as old age, alcohol, excessive dietary intake of Sodium (Table Salt), family history, obesity, sedentary lifestyle and stress. He added that many people with this condition were unaware of having it and only a few of those who were aware are on treatment.

To him, Ghanaians, especially staff of the University, need to be aware that hypertension is a problem and they need to have their blood pressure checked.

Dr. Prah indicated, "...In our statistics at this University, from January to June 2024...we lost eight staff members and four of them were hypertension-related. So, it is a serious thing. We have even lost students to hypertension-related ailments... So, this is not a friendly disease at all."

Touching on signs and symptoms of the disease, he said the condition gives no obvious symptoms but when one starts experiencing symptoms, chances are that there has already been some organ damage hence, the name “Silent Killer”.

The Director indicated that the management of hypertension was mainly done in two ways - lifestyle modification and pharmacological therapy.

He said lifestyle modification involved weight loss, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, alcohol reduction or cessation, exercise, stress management, and dietary sodium reduction.

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Head, Reprographic and Dispatch Unit of the College of Distance Education-UCC, Mrs. Miriam Danso, at the health talk

He reminded the GAUA-UCC members that uncontrolled hypertension had a higher risk of causing damage to every organ in the body including the heart, brain, feet, lever, and eyes among others.

He said having consistent blood pressure above 140/90 was a cause for concern as that could be diagnosed as hypertension, explaining that the upper reading represents when the heart was pumping blood while the lower measure was for when the heart was relaxing.

According to him, issues of hypertension must be of great concern to all as affects people all over the world and also has a lot of long-term effects on the body.

Dr. Prah was, however, quick to add that hypertension was preventable and treatable.

For his part, the President of GAUA-UCC, Mr. Felix Adu-Poku, urged members to ensure that they were responsible for their health so they could live longer.

He appealed to the media to devote some time to engaging health professionals to educate the public on hypertension, pointing out that “the education we offer today through our media platform may save a life tomorrow.”

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

The University of Cape Coast Faculty of Law has held the eleventh edition of its annual Jurists’ Confab. The event, which is a gathering of the Bar, Bench and Academia, provides a forum for dialogue between lawyers, scholars, government agencies, the private sector, students and members of the public on current issues related to the administration of justice, legal practice and law-related professions in Ghana.

Held on the theme, “Human Rights under the 4th Republican Constitution: Threats & Triumphs”, the confab featured Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, a Medical Scholar and Social Commentator; Dr. Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom, Lecturer, Faculty of Law, KNUST and Howard University, USA and Mr. Joseph A. Whittal, Commissioner of the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) as speakers.

In her opening remarks, the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Mrs. Julia Elysa Selman Ayetey, indicated that the theme for the confab was crucial, especially in recent times when human rights had suffered intense attacks globally.

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Dean of the Faculty of Law, Mrs. Julia Elysa Selman Ayetey

Here in Ghana, she said, the protection and enforcement of human rights over the last several years had seen both threats and triumphs. She noted that the confab presented a good platform for discussion on reducing the threats to human rights and increasing the triumphs.

Ghana’s very existence is threatened

In his submission, Prof. Badu Akosa referred to Chapter 5 of the 1992 Constitution, which is devoted to fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms. He said though very well-articulated, the provisions of that chapter only attempt to make Ghana utopian but make no reference to the traditional values that make the Ghanaian.

He said, per the lecture, the two most important issues will be respect for human dignity and equality and freedom from discrimination under the ambit of cultural rights and practices.

“Cultural rights and practices must be at the heart of development and growth and even though enshrined in the Constitution, there have been serious erosions and drifting away from our culture and traditions in a way that has stifled and lopsided our development” he added.

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Prof. Agyeman Badu Akosa

Prof. Akosa said Ghanaians have subsumed cultural and traditional values to western influences in a manner that has become discriminatory and threatening the very existence of the country.

He further indicated that the rule of law and equality under the Law come into sharp focus in Ghana today. According to him, although the Rule of Law is fundamental and recognizes all citizens and institutions within a country including lawmakers, law enforcement officers and judges as accountable to the same law, in practice, that is not the reality.

Are Women’s Rights Prioritised?

Speaking on the theme from the perspective of women’s rights, Dr. Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom raised questions about the extent to which women's rights have been prioritized in Ghana's constitutional and legal framework even though Article 17 of the 1992 Constitution guarantees the equality of all persons before the law and prohibits discrimination on multiple grounds, including gender.

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Dr. Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom

 Highlighting the four legal realities of what she termed the good, the bad, the ugly, and the oblivious, Dr. Addadzi-Koom applauded the progressive efforts made to advance gender equality (the good), raised concern over those situations that are legally threatening and repugnant to the global and national gender equality agenda (the bad and ugly) and the equally significant situations affecting women that seem to have been forgotten or ignored by the existing legal apparatus (the oblivious).

She concluded with a call for action to all legislators, legal and women's rights activists to take the necessary steps to drive the legislative and policy changes that will transform the bad, ugly and oblivious women's rights situations into better conditions that will breathe life into the equality clauses in the 1992 Constitution.

Inspiring the Future

For his part, the Commissioner of the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr. Joseph Whittal, referred to a national survey undertaken by the National Commission for Democracy before the birth of the Fourth Republic which indicated a strong desire by the people of Ghana for a system of government which was committed to upholding human rights.

He said consequently, Chapter 5 of the 1992 Constitution is dedicated to the protection of fundamental human rights. Article 12(1) in particular sets the tone concerning obligations imposed on the organs of state, agencies of government, and where applicable to them, by all juristic and non-juristic persons in Ghana.

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Commissioner Joseph Whittal

Commissioner Whittal noted that the fundamental human rights as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution have occasioned several substantial constitutional victories in the courts, enhanced government respect for human rights, and propelled legal reforms such as the repeal of the criminal libel laws.

Drawing perspectives from case law, journal articles, human rights reports, etcetera, he contended that while a lot of human rights strides have been registered (triumphs) under the Fourth Republican Constitution, there are equally serious concerns (threats) that can erode the country's fairly good human rights credentials.

Commissioner Whittal therefore indicated that the notable triumphs recorded can inspire future discourse on human rights and explore possible pathways for further strengthening of Ghana’s human rights regime in light of growing threats.

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Provost of the College of Education Studies, Prof. Ernest Kofi Davis

Giving his closing remarks, the Provost of the College of Education Studies, Prof. Ernest Kofi Davis, who chaired the event said the diverse perspectives brought to the light by the speakers were all necessary for enhancing human rights within the country.

He was optimistic the platform had sparked the discourse for further discussions on the subject of Ghana’s human rights.

Students of the Faculty were accorded the opportunity to pose questions to the speakers who addressed them.

Present at the event were the supervising High Court Judge for the Central Region, Justice Kofi Akrowia; Justice Fred Kwasi Awuah (rtd); a former Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof. G.K.T. Oduro, the Director of Research Innovation and Consultancy, Prof. David Doku and members of faculty.

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC

The Muslim Chaplaincy of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) has held prayers to commemorate the 2024 Eid-ul-Adha celebration.

Eid-ul-Adha is the performance of a special communal prayer (Salat) in an open field by Muslims worldwide, to signify the willingness of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah’s command.

The prayer session was led by Imam Abdul Razak Zakaria, and was attended by members of the Muslim Chaplaincy, which comprises Muslim staff and members of the Ghana Muslim Students Association (GMSA) of the University. Believers of the Muslim faith from the surrounding communities of the University also participated in the religious event. This emphasised unity and mutual respect between the University and its catchment area.

The occasion was further significantly graced by the presence of the Chairman of the Chaplaincy Committee, Rev. Prof. Kankam Boadu, who represented both the Vice-Chancellor and University Management. Rev. Dr. Benjamin Amoani, a member of the Committee, and Dr. Patrick Quampah, the Secretary of the Chaplaincy Committee accompanied him. The SRC President, Mr. Vincent Kojo Siabi, and some of his executives also graced the religious event.

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 Chairman of the Chaplaincy Committee, Rev. Prof. Kankam Boadu (in green stoal) with members of the committee in a photo with some Muslim members at the prayers

In his address, Rev. Prof. Boadu applauded the Muslim community for their exemplary peaceful coexistence and understanding with other faith groups on campus. He also conveyed a heartfelt goodwill message from the Vice-Chancellor, affirming the University’s commitment to promoting an inclusive academic environment.

The Eid-ul-Adha prayer session climaxed with a distribution of food items to the students and participants who exchanged greetings and pleasantries, reinforcing the bonds of community and fellowship.

Some notable senior members who joined the prayers with their families comprised; Alhaji Dr. Abdussalam Adam, Alhaji Mohammed Najimudeen Abdulai, Dr. Kaderi Norgah Bukari, Dr. Salifu Seidu-Larry, Dr. Arimiyaw Zakaria, and Dr. Saibu Mutaru. Others were Dr. Abdul-Lateef Yussif, Dr. Mohammed Nurudeen Alhassan, Dr. Kofi Atiah, Dr. Nana Fatimah Abubakari Von, Dr. (Mrs.) Alimatu-Saadia Yussif, Mr. Nuhu Alhassan, and Mr. Nasir Yaqub Entsie.

Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC