This paper assessed rice farmers' perceptions of agricultural and irrigation practices through their choices. A survey was carried out among 278 rice farmers on five irrigation schemes in three agro-ecological zones of Togo, viz. the savannah region, the forest region and the coastal region. The sample of random respondents was selected from a list of rice farmers provided by the managers of these irrigated schemes. Data collected through face-to-face interviews using kobocollect software were analyzed with R 4.2 software, and the Pearson test was validated at the 5% level. The results showed that the socio-economic characteristics of the rice growers, such as access to agricultural credit, experience, non-agricultural activities, membership of a rice growers' cooperative, gender, level of education and training in growing irrigated rice, and farm labor, significantly influenced the choice of agronomic practices and irrigation management. Characteristics such as experience, training and hired farm labor enhanced paddy yields, while access to agricultural credit was unproductive. Chemical clearing combined with stump removal, tiller ploughing, transplanting and high plant density are the agricultural practices that increased paddy yields, while tiller mudding and basal mineral fertilization were inefficient. In the same way, water distribution by demand, water depth above the soil of less than 5 cm, use of water-saving technologies and farmer's knowledge of how to improve water and fertilizer use-efficiency also helped to boost paddy yields. For sustainable rice production in the context of labor shortages and the financial resources required, future studies will focus on the effectiveness of motorized mudding and agricultural credits for rice farmers. Furthermore, considering the crucial role of training in the adopting of good agricultural and irrigation practices, future research will study strategies for wide diffusion of knowledge to rice producers.

Intercropping as a practice is very crucial in livelihood sustainability among smallholder farm-ing communities in many growing countries. However, for most cropping systems, the benefits of intercropping have yet to be optimized due to a lack of knowledge regarding spatial ar-rangements and planting densities. The objective of the study was to find out the profitability of maize-vegetable intercropping and the yields obtained from various spatial arrangements and planting densities of intercrops. From May to October 2019 and 2020 respectively, Experimental trials were set up in the rainy season in Northern, Upper West and Upper East regions of Ghana comprising of eight treatments each. A randomized complete block experimental design was used for the field layout with three to four replications. Data was collected on grain and fruit yield and land equivalent ratios was estimated (LER). At the end of the trial, important spatial arrangements and planting densities were identified that can be adopted by smallholder famers for system intensification. For okra, the optimal intercropping system under sufficient rainfalls was 2 okra rows at higher density and 2 maize rows at lower density for Upper West Region. In Upper East Region, the optimal spatial arrangement to recommend is 1 row of maize at recom-mended density: 2 rows of okra at lower density under well distributed rainfalls. For roselle, intercropping with spatial arrangement of 2 rows of maize at higher density: 1 row of okra at recommended density was recommended in Northern Region.

Groundnut is an important cash crop and a diet component for rural households in sub-Saharan Africa. However, Aflatoxin contamination remains a barrier to promoting groundnut-based food products as food levels above maximum limit (ML) can adversely affect human health. Three objectives were set, namely, (i) to characterize the post-harvest operations and risk factors affecting aflatoxin contamination, (ii) to assess aflatoxin incidence in on-farm stores and, iii) to assess agronomic practices that can be integrated to improve yield and reduce aflatoxin contamination. The average aflatoxin levels in on-farm stores were 11.3-16.4μg/kg, in which the proportions of ML were 25.7% at 4μg/kg, 56.3% at 15μg/kg, and 80% at 20μg/kg (~5-7 months after harvest). The application of Aflasafe® resulted in safe or no aflatoxin contamination across the locations. Significant hazards identified during postharvest operations include intermittent rain at harvest and drying (6.5), insect pests attacks after harvest (6), prolonged harvest to stripping interval (6.6), drying on bare ground (6.2), storing on bare floor (6.9), use of poorly efficient shelling machines (6.5), and re-use of rejected nut (6.1). This study provides solutions to minimize aflatoxin risk if appropriate technologies (e.g. improved variety, fertilizer, rhizobia inoculant, and Aflasafe®) and policies are deployed.