Two field experiments were conducted at Ellembelle and Jomoro districts in the Western region of Ghana where rubber cultivation is a predominant farming activity. The objective of the study was to assess the effect of rubber and plantain intercropping systems on selected soil properties. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 3 replications. The treatments were the sole crop rubber (R), sole crop plantain (P) and three intercrop systems comprising an additive series of plantain: one row of plantain to one row of rubber (PR), two rows of plantain to one row of rubber (PPR) and three rows of plantain to one row of rubber (PPPR). Generally, agroforestry systems improved the soil hydraulic properties considerably, with the highest cumulative infiltration rates of 5.16 and 8.68 cm/min observed under the PPPR systems at the Ellembelle and Jomoro sites, respectively. Microbial biomass C (C_mic), N (N_mic) and P (P_mic) was significantly improved (P < 0.05) under the agroforestry than the monocrop systems. The C_mic, N_mic and P_mic values were highest under the PPPR system at both Ellembelle (C_mic, = 139.9 mg/kg; N_mic = 36.26 mg/kg and P_mic = 87.6 mg/kg) and Jomoro (C_mic = 78.7 mg/kg; N_mic = 80.3 mg/kg and P_mic = 3.45 mg/kg) sites.

The growth of trees in riparian forests in semi-arid savannas is resilient to the natural variations in temperature and precipitation due to the availability of riverine water. Climate change can nevertheless, intensify the evapotranspiration of tree species, altering biodiversity, plant productivity and ecosystem services. Understanding the growth response of riparian tree species to climate change is, therefore, critical for their management and conservation. Here, we used 23 cross-dated stem discs of Anogeissus leiocarpus (DC.) Guill. and Perr. and Afzelia africana Sm. randomly sampled from riparian forests in the humid and dry savanna regions of Ghana to assess their growth response to climate change. A generalized additive mixed model (GAMM) was used to integrate species-specific basal area increments to an array of explanatory variables that may affect growth, including tree size and seasonal temperature and precipitation between 1982 and 2013. We observed significant association between tree size, rainy and dry season temperatures and precipitation variables, and changes in tree growth. Despite the strong fluctuations in tree growth over time, the estimated growth rates of the species from the residuals of the GAMMs showed no significant change in growth. Our findings suggest that these riparian forests are highly resistant to weather extremes and therefore, might persist (up to a certain point) even if climate change continues to intensify.

A three-year field trial was conducted between 2014 and 2017 in the Ellembelle and Jomoro districts of the Western region of Ghana where rubber production is common to determine the optimum population density of plantain when grown in combination with immature rubber tree crops. The trials were arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design with 3 replications. The treatments were sole rubber, sole plantain, and three intercrops of one row of plantain in between two rows of rubber, two rows of plantain in between two rows of rubber, and three rows of plantain in between two rows of rubber. The rubber clone used was GT1 while the variety of plantain used was false horn. The results showed that population density of plantain had significant effect on the growth of the associated rubber. Growing plantain at closer spacing of 1.5m under the high-density plantain treatment significantly increased plantain yield compared to the other cropping systems. There was a significant positive relationship between population density of plantain and the rubber tree growth and development. The optimum population density of plantain when intercropped with rubber was 1,666/ha. The study showed intercropping was advantageous over sole cropping for both crops.

Anthropogenic activities around local villages in mesic savanna landscapes of West Africa have resulted in soil improvement and forest establishment outside their climatic zones. Such unique ‘forest islands’ have been reported to provide ecosystem services including biodiversity conservation. However, the science underpinning their formations is limitedly studied. In 2015 and with funding support from the Royal Society-DFID (now FCDO), we set out to investigate the biogeochemistry of the forest islands in comparison with adjacent natural savanna and farmlands across 11 locations in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Nigeria. Our results showed that the forest islands do not differ significantly from the adjoining ecosystems in soil mineralogy implying that their formation was anthropogenically driven. We observed greater soil organic carbon and nutrient distributions in the forest islands, which also had more stable macro (>500 μm) and meso-aggregates (500–250 μm) than the adjoining agricultural lands. We found that soil micro-aggregate (250–53 μm) stability was climate (precipitation) driven in the West African ecosystems while meso- and macro-aggregate stability was land-use driven. In one of the unique forest islands we studied in the Mole National Park of Ghana, we found its mineral-associated organic carbon over 40% greater than the adjoining natural savanna with potential implications for the achievement of the global initiative of the ‘4p1000’ in West Africa. We conclude that the North–South–South research collaboration has established clearly, the science underlying the age-long West African forest island phenomenon and has, among many successes, led to capacity building of young scientists driving cutting-edge research in climate change adaptation and food systems transformation in the sub-region.

Commercialization of research technologies and innovations by research institutes is being intensified due to declining government funding for research and dwindling donor inflows. Lack of quality planting materials continues to be a major challenge in the production of plantains. CSIR-Crops Research Institute signed a three-year contract with a private company to supply quality plantain plantlets using the macro-propagation technology. This paper analyses challenges and the lessons learnt in the commercialization by a public research institution, with the macro-propagation for plantain seedlings production as a case study. In 2014, the total seedlings supplied to the private company was 37, 285 with a target of 90,000 while a total of 48,012 seedlings out of a target of 180,000 were produced and supplied in 2015. Lessons learnt to improve production included: (i) Effective supervision of the selection process and uprooting of suckers for paring by technical personnel to reduce diseased, pest infested materials and water suckers; (ii) Sourcing of suckers close to production sites for commercial production of plantlets in order to reduce cost of transportation and also uprooting workable quantities at a time; (iii) The uprooted suckers should be pared on time and buried to avoid deterioration which reduces the multiplication ratio of the pared suckers in the chamber; (iv) Sterilization of sawdust and black soil; (v) Building the capacity of hired labour to acquire the skills and contract them to produce the plantlets at cheaper rates. In addition, research institutions should enter into public-private-partnerships to avoid researchers having divided attention in performing their duties. Key words: Seedlings, manipulation, macro-propagation, paring, plantlets. Commercialization of research technologies and innovations by research institutes is being intensified due to declining government funding for research and dwindling donor inflows. Lack of quality planting materials continues to be a major challenge in the production of plantains. CSIR-Crops Research Institute signed a three-year contract with a private company to supply quality plantain plantlets using the macro-propagation technology. This paper analyses challenges and the lessons learnt in the commercialization by a public research institution, with the macro-propagation for plantain seedlings production as a case study. In 2014, the total seedlings supplied to the private company was 37, 285 with a target of 90,000 while a total of 48,012 seedlings out of a target of 180,000 were produced and supplied in 2015. Lessons learnt to improve production included: (i) Effective supervision of the selection process and uprooting of suckers for paring by technical personnel to reduce diseased, pest infested materials and water suckers; (ii) Sourcing of suckers close to production sites for commercial production of plantlets in order to reduce cost of transportation and also uprooting workable quantities at a time; (iii) The uprooted suckers should be pared on time and buried to avoid deterioration which reduces the multiplication ratio of the pared suckers in the chamber; (iv) Sterilization of sawdust and black soil; (v) Building the capacity of hired labour to acquire the skills and contract them to produce the plantlets at cheaper rates. In addition, research institutions should enter into public-private-partnerships to avoid researchers having divided attention in performing their duties. Key words: Seedlings, manipulation, macro-propagation, paring, plantlets.

The enforcement of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) may reduce the supply of natural rubber to the European Union (EU), potentially leading to price increases due to the inelastic nature of rubber demand. This study assesses the potential financial implications for smallholder producers in Ghana, considering both the opportunities and risks associated with the evolving regulatory environment under EUDR and local market access conditions. A cost–benefit analysis (CBA) was conducted to evaluate the impact of different EUDR-related export decline scenarios on the net present value (NPV) of a standard 4-hectare plantation. The results suggest that even a minor 2.5% decline in global exports to the EU could increase the NPV by 17% for an independent compliant producer. However, a simulated COVID-19-like crisis in the fifth year of production leads to a 20% decline in NPV, reflecting vulnerability to external shocks. Based on these findings, the study identifies two priorities. This first is improving the coordination and harmonization of compliance efforts across the value chain to enable more producers to benefit from potential EUDR-related price increases. The recent creation of the Association of Natural Rubber Actors of Ghana (ANRAG) presents an opportunity to support such collective mechanisms. Second, minimizing losses during demand shocks requires the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA) to establish clear rules and transparent reporting for authorizing unprocessed rubber exports when factories reduce purchases due to low international prices—thus preserving market access for vulnerable producers. Together, these approaches would ensure that the potential benefits of the EUDR are realized inclusively, remain stable despite market downturns, and do not undermine value addition in domestic processing factories.