Professor Naa Ayikailey Adamafio Delivers Inaugural Lecture

Prof. Naa Ayikailey Adamafio delivering the Inaugural Lecture

Prof. Naa Ayikailey Adamafio, Professor of Biochemistry at the Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, and former Dean of the International Programmes at the University of Ghana delivered her inaugural lecture on the topic: “Ghana’s Biomass Imperative: Surmounting the Biochemical Barriers.”  The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, chaired the first of the 2016/2017 academic year inaugural lectures series at the Great Hall of the University of Ghana.

Prof. Naa Ayikailey Adamafio shared important insights on Ghana’s agricultural and agro-processing sectors, highlighting the rising levels of crop residues (biomass) such as maize cobs, cassava peels, kola husks, and cocoa pod husks among others, which she said were often discarded and left to decompose without being put to productive use.

She reminisced about her research on biomass which began to take shape when on a trip to a local market she saw huge heaps of citrus fruits left decomposing, and wondered why such waste could not be avoided and whether any useful substances could be salvaged from such waste. She indicated that this was a recurrent situation in many places across the country.

The lecture presented an overview of the state of biomass, the biochemical barriers to biomass utilization, and its consequent impact on livestock production capacity. She touched on crop residues and how they can be put to effective use, mentioning global efforts made to convert these residues into bio-fuels and animal feed.  Prof. Adamafio advocated a collaborative effort between researchers, agriculturalists, and policy makers to devise strategies to promote the use of biomass in Ghana.

Prof. Naa Ayikailey Adamafio identified the prohibitive cost of animal feed as one of the greatest challenges confronting the livestock sector in Ghana.  She argued that the livestock sector produces only about 30% of the country’s meat requirements because of the high cost of animal feed, which is due to the competition between humans and animals for food crops and suggested that if Ghanaians substituted biomass for food crops in feeding animals, this would reduce the cost of animal feed and boost domestic livestock production considerably. She indicated that about 3.6 million metric tonnes of cassava peel and 1.4 million metric tonnes of cocoa pod husk which could be upgraded and used as animal feed go waste yearly.

She however admitted that crop residues may contain one or more harmful substances or anti-nutrients, which adversely affect the health, digestion, growth or reproduction of animals. She outlined aspects of her research which had aimed at developing affordable treatment methods that would be effective in eliminating anti-nutrients from major crop residues, while retaining the beneficial nutrients.

Prof. Naa Ayikailey Adamafio emphasized that the rest of the world is benefiting from the utilization of biomass; hence the need for a paradigm shift in Ghana’s agriculture and agro-processing sectors to prioritize and maximize the use of biomass. The benefits of such a paradigm shift would include improved environmental management, job creation in the rural areas, and poverty alleviation.

Prof. Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, Vice-Chancellor

In his closing remarks, the Vice-Chancellor, while congratulating Prof. Adamafio for a brilliant lecture and the impact of her work on policy and the agrarian communities, bemoaned the recurring post-harvest losses and their consequent impacts on the country’s GDP and dietary needs.  He emphasized the use of innovative technology for putting crop residues to productive uses.

A number of presentations to congratuate Prof. Naa Ayikailey Adamafio

 

A section of the audience at the Inaugural Lecture