The university is undertaking quality analysis of organic products

University of Ghana was established as a university in 1961. It has a school of agriculture and three agricultural research centres. Despite the fact that UG does not have a specific organic research centre, it has participated in several research projects on organic and low input agriculture. The soil science department has been working on carbon sequestration and biodiversity of microbial populations in tropical soils. UG runs a project on co-compost in rain-fed peri-urban agriculture and are preparing a continuation of organically fortified co-compost. Moreover much work has been done on N-cycling through leguminous crops.

The Organic Agriculture Program combines both research and teaching and is spread between four campuses.  Research is carried out by six different groups: Soils; Horticulture – Field Crops; Urban Agriculture – Livestock; Urban Agriculture – Environment; Social Justice – Marketing and Economics; and Rural Communities.

Urban Harvest is a system-wide CGIAR initiative to direct and coordinate the collective knowledge towards strengthening urban and peri-urban agriculture.  The Initiative helps Centres link together their individual efforts and form partnerships with other efforts.  Urban Harvest works jointly with other national and international partners to come up with a framework to study the urban environment.  It focuses on urban livelihoods and markets, urban ecosystem health, and stakeholder and policy dialogue.

The Priekuli Plant Breeding Institute’s principle task is to create sustainability and competitiveness in crop production for Latvian agriculture.  The Institute’s Organic Farming Group conducts research on the suitability of plant varieties to organic farming conditions, efficiency of plant protection activities, analysis of weed growth dynamics, and preserving soil fertility levels.

VRF aims at simulating the diversity and eco-friendliness of the natural forests in farming and farm practices. The research technologies developed in the foundation, especially on organic farming, are being field-tested at a macro-level in Varanashi Farms (VF), before being advocated for wide-scale adoption. Thus, emphasis on organic farming is attempted in VRF and VF. Varanashi Agro-Sustainable Technology (VAST) Centre, another sister unit attached to the Varanashi Organization, has the responsibility of manufacturing and marketing eco-friendly farm inputs to the farming community.

VEERU is a research and training centre in veterinary epidemiology and livestock economics.  The Organic Livestock Research Group (OLRG) within VEERU carries out research to identify animal health and welfare constraints and research needs within organic livestock production.  Current studies focus on milk production characteristics and fertility in organic dairy cows.  Also, OLRG coordinated an EU-funded action project, Network for Animal Health and Welfare in Organic Agriculture (NAHWOA). 

NVI is a national biomedical research institute that oversees the areas of animal health, fish health, and food safety.  In the past, the NVI has conducted research on post harvest strategies to reduce enteric bacteria contamination of vegetable, nut and fruit products, with a focus on the organic food chain. 

Scientists in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture have been working to compare the nutritional quality and sustainability of organically and conventionally produced fruit.  Research at the College of Pharmacy has focused on the differences in polyphenol and antioxidant levels and forms in organic and conventional food. 

The World Agroforestry Centre, a CGIAR centre, aims to generate science-based knowledge about the diverse roles that trees play in agricultural landscapes and to use its research to advance policies and practices that benefit the poor and the environment. The Centre partners with a range of scientific and development institutions to help move forward their efforts to generate tree-based solutions to global problems. One especially useful resource that the Centre offers online is the Agroforestree Database, a database of tree species for field workers and researchers. The Centre does not have a specific focus on organic agroforestry, but has supported work in the area in the past.