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Renewable energy transition has become popular in the wake of rapid climate change and energy volatility. National governments and global stakeholders have instituted several policy mechanisms to enhance cleaner energy transitions. However, extant literature has indicated the inadequacy of mere supportive policies in the transition process. Herein, we integrate intuitions from different academic traditions to develop a framework to investigate entrepreneurs’ solar energy adoption in Ghana. Overall, two constructs from the innovation-diffusion model (relative advantage and observability), two from environmental psychology (personal and social norms), and a policy incentives factor constituted the research model. Cross sectional survey response from small-and-medium scale entrepreneurs (N = 320) was obtained. By employing the structural equation modelling technique, pro-environmental norms showed relatively stronger association with solar adoption. The integration of hypotheses from different research traditions offers higher insights than the value of each model tested independently. The findings can be useful to both researchers and policymakers towards the fight against climate change.

Lignin and cellulose are the most important component of crop straw entering arable soil. The decomposition of lignin and cellulose are related to carbon sequestration and soil fertility. The keystone microbes decomposing lignin and cellulose in cropland and their impact on agricultural management, however, remains largely unclear. In this study, we traced the carbon (C) from highly enriched

Potassium (K) is among the essential macronutrients needed for plant growth and it’s also an extremely dynamic ion in both soil and plant systems. K+ moves intensely in a plant system but moderately in a soil system. The average soil deposits of K generally are plentiful, but their mainstreams are not readily available for crop uptake. Many researches have dealt with the response of crops to potassium application, but few literatures have tackled that of maize to available K and its uptake. This review seeks to discuss current progress concerning the relevance of K in maize crop production and its uptake; how this physiological action transforms into growth and yield. We have reviewed available studies on the content, roles of K in the soil-plant system and factors contributing to K uptake and transportation in plant. Also, the benefits of Potassium Solubilizing Microorganisms (KSMs) as an alternative or in combination with exchangeable K+ are reviewed. Furthermore, K deficiencies in maize causing constraint in physiological activities and rendering weak resistance to pests are also discussed. The current study indicates that intensive agricultural production has led to K nutrient limitation in organic or coarse-textured soil resulting in the reduction of available K reserves. However, an optimal application of K can prevent these fertilization imbalances, which will eventually increase soil fertility.

The Ghana school feeding policy (GSFP) comes under the activity of the African Agricultural Development Pillar 3, aiming to enhance food security and decrease hunger following the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).This study finds out the effect of the government school feeding policy in Ghana with specific attention to the Atwima Kwanwoma District.The study adopted aquantitative approach to examine 50 respondents from 50primaryschools within the Atwima Kwanwoma District in Ghana. We collected data from the headteachers of these selected schools. Findings of the study reveal that the significant impacts of the GSFP on the selected basic schools increased in pupil enrolment, increase in pupilretention, and increase in pupil-teacher ratio. The study recommends that due to the positive impacts of this policy, the Ministry of Education should allocate more resources into the implementation of the policy. &nbsp

Renewable energy sources development has become popular in recent times for their energy security, employment creation and containment of greenhouse gases emissions. However, the development of renewable energy in developing countries has remained stagnant despite plenteous renewable energy sources due to existential barriers. Herein, using Ghana's renewable energy policy target of 10% other renewables besides hydroelectricity in her total energy mix by 2020 as a case analysis, this study identified and ranked the barriers to renewable energy development. Overall, twenty-three barriers were finalised and categorised under six broad headings, including technical, economic and financial, social, political and regulatory, institutional, and geographical. Subsequently, the proposed Multi-Objective Optimisation based on Ratio Analysis (MULTIMOORA) integrated with the Evaluation based on Distance from Average Solution (EDAS) method was applied to rank barriers and sub-barriers. The political and regulatory barriers ranked highest among the six categories, while corruption and nepotism emerged as the most critical hurdle within the sub-barriers. The findings suggest that specific renewable energy standards, grid connection quotas and simplification of certification procedures are required. A bottom-up approach to renewable energy policy formulation is preferable for inclusiveness and sustainability. Moreover, the paper has developed a framework for the assessment of how each barrier impedes renewable energy development.