Your search found 20 records
1 Mensah, E.; Amoah, P.; Abaidoo, R. C.; Drechsel, P. 2001. Environmental concerns of (peri-) urban vegetable production: Case studies from Kumasi and Accra. In Drechsel, P.; Kunze, D. (Eds.), Waste composting for urban and peri-urban agriculture - Closing the rural-urban nutrient cycle in Sub-Saharan Africa. Wallingford, UK: IWMI; FAO; CABI. pp.55-68.
Vegetables ; Crop production ; Horticulture ; Environmental effects ; Case studies / Ghana / Kumasi / Accra
(Location: IWMI-SA Call no: IWMI 631.875 G100 DRE Record No: H031157)
2 Amoah, Philip; Drechsel, Pay; Abaidoo, R. C.. 2005. Irrigated urban vegetable production in Ghana: sources of pathogen contamination and health risk elimination. Irrigation and Drainage, 54(Supplement 1):S49-S61.
(Location: IWMI-HQ Call no: PER Record No: H037444)
3 Amoah, Philip; Drechsel, Pay; Abaidoo, R. C.; Ntow, W. J. 2006. Pesticide and pathogen contamination of vegetables in Ghana’s urban markets. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 50:1-6.
Public health ; Helminths ; Diseases ; Risks ; Vegetables ; Commodity markets ; Irrigation water ; Water quality ; Pesticide residues / Ghana / Accra, Gulf of Guinea / Kumasi / Ashanti
(Location: IWMI-HQ Call no: IWMI 362.1 G200 AMO Record No: H038625)
http://www.springerlink.com/content/7575km06652224q3/fulltext.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H038625.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H038625.pdf
(248.40KB)
4 Mensah, E.; Amoah, Philip; Drechsel, Pay; Abaidoo, R. C.. 2001. Environmental concerns of urban and peri-urban agriculture: case studies from Accra and Kumasi. In Drechsel, P.; Kunze, D. (Eds.). Waste composting for urban and peri-urban agriculture: closing the rural-urban nutrient cycle in Sub-Saharan Africa. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI); Rome, Italy, FAO; Wallingford, UK: CABI. pp.55-68.
Urban agriculture ; Irrigation water ; Pesticides ; Composts ; Organic fertilizers / West Africa / Ghana
(Location: IWMI-HQ Call no: IWMI 631.875 G100 DRE Record No: H038897)
5 Amoah, Philip; Drechsel, Pay; Abaidoo, R. C.; Henseler, M. 2007. Irrigated urban vegetable production in Ghana: microbiological contamination in farms and markets and associated consumer risk groups. Journal of Water and Health, 5(3):455-466. [doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wh.2007.041]
Irrigated farming ; Wastewater ; Vegetables ; Lettuces ; Urban agriculture ; Public health ; Risks ; Helminths / Ghana
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 631.7.5 G200 AMO Record No: H040133)
(0.24 MB) (243.14 KB)
6 Drechsel, Pay; Keraita, Bernard; Amoah, Philip; Abaidoo, R. C.; Raschid-Sally, Liqa; Bahri, Akissa. 2007. Reducing health risks from wastewater use in urban and peri-urban Sub-Saharan Africa: Applying the 2006 WHO guidelines. Paper presented at the 6th IWA Specialist Conference on Wastewater Reclamation and Reuse for Sustainability, Belgium, October 2006. 7p.
Water reuse ; Wastewater ; Urban agriculture ; Vegetables ; Health hazards ; Irrigation practices / Africa South of Sahara
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 631.7.5 G110 DRE Record No: H040435)
(0.15 MB)
7 Amoah, Philip; Drechsel, Pay; Abaidoo, R. C.; Klutse, A. 2007. Effectiveness of common and improved sanitary washing methods in selected cities of West Africa for the reduction of coliform bacteria and helminth eggs on vegetables. Tropical Medicine and International Health, 12(Suppl.2):39-49.
Wastewater irrigation ; Coliform bacteria ; Pathogens ; Vegetables ; Cleaning ; Washing / West Africa / Ghana
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 631.7.5 Record No: H040507)
8 Keraita, Bernard; Konradsen, F.; Drechsel, Pay; Abaidoo, R. C.. 2007. Effect of low-cost irrigation methods on microbial contamination of lettuce irrigated with untreated wastewater. Tropical Medicine and International Health, 12(Suppl. 2):15-22.
Irrigation practices ; Wastewater irrigation ; Vegetables ; Lettuces ; Urban agriculture ; Helminths ; Laboratory techniques ; Furrow irrigation ; Sprinkler irrigation ; Drip irrigation ; Biological contamination ; Health hazards ; Risks / Ghana / Kumasi
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 631.7.5 G200 KER Record No: H040534)
9 Keraita, Bernard; Konradsen, F.; Drechsel, Pay; Abaidoo, R. C.. 2007. Reducing microbial contamination on wastewater-irrigated lettuce by cessation of irrigation before harvesting. Tropical Medicine and International Health, 12(Suppl. 2):7-13.
Wastewater irrigation ; Vegetables ; Lettuces ; Urban agriculture ; Health hazards ; Risks ; Laboratory techniques ; Biological contamination / Ghana / Kumasi
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 631.7.5 G200 KER Record No: H040535)
10 Drechsel, Pay; Keraita, Bernard; Amoah, Philip; Abaidoo, R. C.; Raschid-Sally, Liqa; Bahri, Akissa. 2008. Reducing health risks from wastewater use in urban and peri-urban sub-Saharan Africa: applying the 2006 WHO guidelines. Water Science and Technology, 57(9): 1461-1466.
Water reuse ; Wastewater ; Urban agriculture ; Vegetables ; Health hazards ; Irrigation practices / Africa South of Sahara
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 631.7.5 G110 DRE Record No: H041185)
Where rapid urbanization is outpacing urban capacities to provide sound sanitation and wastewater treatment, most water sources in city vicinity are heavily polluted. This is of great concern as many of the leafy vegetables eaten raw in the cities are produced in these areas. Following the new WHO guidelines, different non-treatment options at farm, market, and kitchen level were field tested for health risk reduction with special consideration to efficiency and adoption potential. As most households are used to vegetable washing (although ineffectively), an important entry point for risk reduction is the increased emphasis of the new guidelines on food preparation measures. A combination of safer irrigation practices (water fetching, on-farm treatment, and application), the allocation of farmland with better water sources, and improved vegetable washing in kitchens appear to be able to reduce the potential risk of infections significantly, although it might not be possible to reach the ideal threshold without some kind of wastewater treatment. The on-farm trials carried out in Ghana also explored the limitation of other risk reduction measures, such as drip irrigation, crop restrictions and cessation of irrigation under local circumstances considering possible incentives for behaviour change.
11 Abaidoo, R. C.; Keraita, Bernard; Drechsel, Pay; Dissanayake, Priyanka; Maxwell, Akple S. 2010. Soil and crop contamination through wastewater irrigation and options for risk reduction in developing countries. In Dion, P. (Ed.). Soil biology and agriculture in the tropics. Heidelberg, Germany: Springer Verlag. pp.498-535.
Wastewater irrigation ; Public health ; Health hazards ; Pathogens ; Crops ; Heavy metals ; Organic compounds ; Inorganic compounds ; Water storage ; Reservoirs ; Filtration / Ghana
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H042644)
(0.19 MB)
Wastewater irrigation is becoming a global phenomenon, as a result of global water scarcity and increased pollution of water sources. While this practice offers many opportunities, human health risks from contaminated soils and crops irrigated with wastewater pose the greatest challenges to this practice. In this chapter, contaminants in wastewater of most relevance to soil and crop, such as pathogens, heavy metals and other organic contaminants as well as the related human health and environmental risks are discussed. There is a general consensus that untreated wastewater contaminates soils and crops and poses health risks, however the threats vary widely. While wastewater treatment is the best choice to address this problem, a number of low-cost technological options and health protection measures exist to address the contamination challenges especially in developing countries. These include irrigation methods, farm-based measures for improving water quality, choice of crop, water application techniques, soil phytoremediation, zoning and post-harvest measures. For comprehensive risk reduction, a combination of these measures is recommended especially where comprehensive wastewater treatment is not feasible.
12 Amoah, Philip; Drechsel, Pay; Abaidoo, R. C.; Abraham, Ernest Mensah. 2009. Improving food hygiene in Africa where vegetables are irrigated with polluted water. Paper presented at the West Africa Regional Sanitation and Hygiene Symposium, Accra, Ghana, 10-12 November 2009. 9p.
/ West Africa / Ghana / Wastewater irrigation / Vegetables / Lettuces / Faecal coliforms / Public health / Hygiene
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H042624)
http://www.irc.nl/redir/content/download/146412/475888/file/Philip%20Amoah.doc
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H042624.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H042624.pdf
(0.12 MB) (143.50 KB)
Due to inappropriate and inadequate urban sanitation infrastructure in Ghana wastewater from households and other facilities ends up in nearby water bodies, which are often used as sources of irrigation water. However, this practice could have adverse public health and environmental effects, especially because untreated wastewater has high population of pathogenic organisms. The purpose of this study was to determine the current level of exposure of the Ghanaian local population to faecal coliform (FC) through the consumption of wastewater irrigated vegetables and to analyse and improve the effectiveness of common washing methods for the reduction of faecal microorganism populations on the surface of wastewater-irrigated vegetables. The levels of pathogen on market vegetables produced with wastewater were determined. Questionnaire interviews were also used to gather information on common methods used for washing vegetables in 11 cities in West Africa. The efficacy of the common decontamination methods was measured in terms of log reductions in FC populations on homogenised contaminated vegetable samples. High FC and helminth eggs contamination levels exceeding common guidelines for food quality were recorded on the market vegetables. Methods used to wash vegetables vary widely within and between Ghana and neighbouring francophone West African (WA) countries. However, several of the most common methods do not reduce the contamination to any desirable level. Significantly, different log reductions are achieved depending on the washing method and contact time. Tests to improve the apparent ineffective methods were especially promising in view of the relatively expensive vinegar. However, up to 3 log units reduction is also possible at a much lower price with ‘Eau de Javel’ (bleach), which is commonly used in francophone WA. Washing vegetables before consumption is important for health risk reduction. However, any washing method will need complementary efforts to reduce pathogen contamination.
13 Amoah, Philip; Keraita, Bernard; Akple, Maxwell; Drechsel, Pay; Abaidoo, R. C.; Konradsen, F. 2011. Low-cost options for reducing consumer health risks from farm to fork where crops are irrigated with polluted water in West Africa. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 37p. (IWMI Research Report 141) [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2011.201]
Urban agriculture ; Consumers ; Public health ; Health hazards ; Risk management ; Vegetable growing ; Wastewater irrigation ; Irrigation methods ; Irrigation practices ; Wastewater treatment ; Filtration / West Africa / Ghana
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 631.7 G190 AMO Record No: H043829)
(1007.99KB)
To identify interventions which reduce health risks of consumers where highly polluted irrigation water is used to irrigate vegetables in West Africa, scientists worked over 5 years with farmers, market traders and street food vendors in Ghana. The most promising low-cost interventions with high adoption potential were analyzed for their ability to reduce common levels of pathogens (counts of fecal coliforms and helminth eggs). The analysis showed the combination potential of various interventions, especially on-farm and during vegetable washing in line with the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. The tested market-based interventions were important to prevent new or additional contamination.
14 Abaidoo, R. C.; Keraita, Bernard; Amoah, Philip; Drechsel, Pay; Bakang, J.; Kranjac-Berisavljevic, G; Konradsen, F.; Agyekum, W.; Klutse, A. 2009. Safeguarding public health concerns, livelihoods and productivity in wastewater irrigated urban and periurban vegetable farming. Colombo, Sri Lanka: CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF). 80p. (CPWF Project Report 38)
Vegetable growing ; Urban areas ; Wastewater irrigation ; Productivity ; Models ; Public health ; Research projects / Ghana / Accra / Kumasi / Tamale
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H044042)
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/r4d/PDF/Outputs/WaterfoodCP/PN38_KNUST_ProjectReport_Nov09_approved.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H044042.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H044042.pdf
(3.01 MB)
The goal of the project was to develop integrated and user-oriented strategies to safeguard public health concerns without compromising livelihoods and land and water productivity in wastewater irrigated urban and peri-urban vegetable farming. In this project, assessment of land and water productivity in wastewater irrigated farming was done, levels of contamination on irrigation water and vegetables quantified at different levels along the food chain (farms, markets and consumer level) and appropriate lowcost risk reduction strategies identified and participatory testing done with stakeholders at farm and consumer levels. A large number of students were involved in the project, significantly building human capacity.
15 Amponsah-Doku, F.; Obiri-Danso, K.; Abaidoo, R. C.; Andoh, L. A.; Drechsel, Pay; Kondrasen, F. 2010. Bacterial contamination of lettuce and associated risk factors at production sites, markets and street food restaurants in urban and peri-urban Kumasi, Ghana. Scientific Research and Essays, 5(2):217-223.
Biological contamination ; Bacteria ; Vegetable growing ; Lettuces ; Salmonella ; Irrigation water ; Wastewater irrigation ; Wastewater treatment ; Urban areas ; Risks ; Health hazards ; Microbiological analysis ; Indicators ; Social aspects ; Farmers / Ghana / Kumasi
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H044754)
(107.32KB)
There is increasing evidence that urban grown vegetables in developing countries can be contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms. This is particularly true when wastewater is used in irrigation. The microbiological quality of wastewater grown lettuce on farms, markets and at street food vendor sites were evaluated for thermotolerant coliforms, enterococci and Salmonella using standard methods. Farm irrigation water and market refreshing water (water used in keeping the lettuce fresh) samples were also analysed. Thermotolerant coliforms on lettuce varied from 2.3 × 103 to 9.3 × 108 on farm, 6.0 ×101 to 2.3 × 108 on market and 2.3 × 106 to 2.4 × 109 at street food vendor sites. Indicator bacterial numbers on farm lettuce were higher compared to the irrigation water (1.5 × 103 to 4.3 × 106) used on the farms. Thermotolerant coliform numbers in market refreshing water (9.0 × 103 to 4.3 × 1010) were higher compared to that on the market lettuce. Enterococci numbers on lettuce were lower and ranged from 3.9 × 101 to 1.0 × 106 on farm, 6.0 × 101 to 9.0 × 104 on market and 5.1 × 103 to 2.5 × 106 at street food vendor sites. Salmonella numbers recorded at food vendor sites ranged from 1.5 × 101 to 9.3 × 102. In general, thermotolerant coliforms numbers increased by 18% while enterococci numbers reduced by 64% from the farms to the street foods. Bacterial counts on farm lettuce and irrigation water, market lettuce and refreshing water and street foods all exceeded the recommended World Health Organization (WHO) and International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Food (ICMSF) standards of 103. Wastewater use on farms and refreshing water in markets could be the main contributors to lettuce contamination and that education on use of effective de-contamination or washing methods before eating will contribute to reducing the risk associated with the consumption of such contaminated foods.
16 Keraita, Bernard; Abaidoo, R. C.; Beernaerts, I.; Koo-Oshima, S.; Amoah, Philip; Drechsel, Pay; Konradsen, F. 2012. Safe re-use practices in wastewater-irrigated urban vegetable farming in Ghana. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development (JAFSCD), 2(4):1-12. [doi: https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2012.024.004]
Water reuse ; Wastewater irrigation ; Irrigation methods ; Urban areas ; Vegetable growing ; Health hazards ; Organizations / Ghana / Kumasi
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H044996)
(0.20 MB)
Irrigation using untreated wastewater poses health risks to farmers and consumers of crop products, especially vegetables. With hardly any wastewater treatment in Ghana, a multiple-barrier approach was adopted and safe re-use practices were developed through action research involving a number of stakeholders at different levels along the food chain. This paper presents an overview of safe re-use practices including farm-based water treatment methods, water application techniques, post-harvest handling practices, and washing methods. The overview is based on a comprehensive analysis of the literature and our own specific studies, which used data from a broad range of research methods and approaches. Identifying, testing, and assessment of safe practices were done with the active participation of key actors using observations, extensive microbiological laboratory assessments, and field-based measurements. The results of our work and the work of others show that the practices developed had a great potential to reduce health risks, especially when used to complement each other at different levels of the food chain. Future challenges are the development of a comprehensive framework that best combines tested risk-reduction strategies for wide application by national stakeholders as well as their potential implementation into legally enforceable national standards.
17 Amoah, Philip; Lente, I.; Asem-Hiablie, S.; Abaidoo, R. C.. 2014. Quality of vegetables in Ghanaian urban farms and markets. In Drechsel, Pay; Keraita, B. (Eds.) Irrigated urban vegetable production in Ghana: characteristics, benefits and risk mitigation. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). pp.89-103.
Vegetables ; Marketing ; Chemical contamination ; Helminths ; Heavy metals ; Faecal coliforms ; Pesticide residues ; Irrigation water ; Lettuces / Ghana / Kumasi / Accra / Tamale
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H046605)
(395 KB)
This chapter shows results obtained from analyzing samples of vegetables taken at the farm gate and from selling points in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale. Microbiological data are based on a total of about 1,500 vegetable samples taken from different sampling points along the vegetable distribution chain – farm gates – and from different categories of sellers in Accra, Tamale and Kumasi. Fecal coliforms and helminth eggs were mainly used as the fecal contamination indicator organisms. For chemical contaminants, heavy metals and pesticides in irrigation water and vegetables were analyzed, while estrogens were used as an example for emerging contaminants.
18 Drechsel, Pay; Keraita, B.; Seidu, R.; Abaidoo, R. C.. 2014. Human health risks from wastewater-irrigated vegetable farming. In Drechsel, Pay; Keraita, B. (Eds.) Irrigated urban vegetable production in Ghana: characteristics, benefits and risk mitigation. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). pp.104-115.
Public health ; Health hazards ; Wastewater irrigation ; Vegetables ; Biological contamination ; Heavy metals ; Pesticides / Ghana / Accra
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H046606)
(149 KB)
Contamination levels of water and crops which exceed common standards are only a first indication of human health risks. This chapter shows estimates of human health risks from consumption of wastewater-irrigated vegetables based for example on dose-response modeling. The chapter focuses on human health risks and risk perceptions of microbiological and chemical contaminants such as heavy metals and pesticides.
19 Acheampong, D.; Balana, Bedru B.; Nimoh, F.; Abaidoo, R. C.. 2018. Assessing the effectiveness and impact of agricultural water management interventions: the case of small reservoirs in northern Ghana. Agricultural Water Management, 209: 163-170. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2018.07.009]
Agriculture ; Water management ; Reservoir operation ; Smallholders ; Vegetable growing ; Food security ; Living standards ; Households ; Farmers ; Irrigated farming ; Farm income ; Community involvement / Ghana
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048872)
Agricultural water management, particularly management of multi-purpose small reservoirs (SRs) in drier savanna areas of the northern Ghana, is being promoted as a key solution to improve agricultural production, enhance food security and livelihoods of smallholder farm households. However, little empirical evidence exist on how effective these small water infrastructures are in terms of delivering multiple benefits and their impact on the livelihood of smallholder farmers. This study assessed the effectiveness and impact of the small reservoirs on smallholder vegetable farmers in northern Ghana. A participatory rating method using a 5-point Likert-scale was used to assess the effectiveness of SRs in delivering multiple livelihood benefits and an endogenous switching regression model was applied to assess the SRs’ impact using a primary data collected from 328 randomly sampled vegetable farmers. Results from the Likert scale analysis show that most of the SRs are either dysfunctional or underutilized and not effective in delivering multiple benefits. Results from the endogenous switching regression model show that there is only about 3% increase in the income of vegetable farmers participating in irrigated vegetable production using SRs against the counterfactual situation but this change is insignificant statistically. The current low level effectiveness and impact of SRs could be enhanced by improving their management, for example, through the provision of incentive mechanisms such as subsidies to the private sector involvement in rehabilitation, management and irrigation service provision and strengthening the capacity of existing water users associations. Furthermore, small reserviors should be recognized not only as water sources for small scale irrigation but also as providers of multiple livelihood benefits to local communities and consequently should attract due attention in public resource allocation in their rehabilitation and management/institutional capacity building.
20 Antwi-Agyei, P.; Dougill, A. J.; Doku-Marfo, J.; Abaidoo, R. C.. 2021. Understanding climate services for enhancing resilient agricultural systems in Anglophone West Africa: the case of Ghana. Climate Services, 22:100218. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cliser.2021.100218]
Climate change adaptation ; Information services ; Policy making ; Farming systems ; Vulnerability ; Resilience ; Sustainable Development Goals ; Agricultural productivity ; Socioeconomic development ; Capacity development ; Institutions ; Stakeholders ; Decision making / Anglophone Africa / West Africa / Ghana / Liberia / Sierra Leone / Nigeria / Gambia
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050384)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405880721000066/pdfft?md5=f45a830d6f05e8f8d0c1f50f3b8e740d&pid=1-s2.0-S2405880721000066-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050384.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050384.pdf
(0.50 MB) (512 KB)
Whilst the capability of climate services to reduce climate impacts is alluring, empirical evidence on how best to mainstream climate information services in Africa is lacking. This paper determines how climate information services have been incorporated into national policies by Anglophone West African states for building agricultural resilience and provides a detailed analysis of issues facing Ghanaian agricultural systems. The paper addresses the questions: (i) to what extent is climate change recognised as a threat to agricultural development in national climate facing policies of Anglophone West African states? (ii) to what extent have climate information services been incorporated into national and regional policy frameworks of Anglophone West African states for resilient agricultural systems? (iii) what are the key challenges in mainstreaming climate information services into national policies for resilient agricultural building in Ghana? The study employed thematic content analysis, multi-stakeholder workshops and expert interviews to understand climate discourses around climate services. Findings show that climate change is highlighted in national and regional level policies as a serious threat to socioeconomic development and agricultural productivity in West Africa. Anglophone West Africa countries are at various stages in establishing a National Framework for Climate Services to help guide future adaptation planning. This study shows that Anglophone West African states have not yet incorporated climate information services into strategic national and regional climate facing policies that are critical in shaping efforts aimed at managing climate risks. For the case of Ghana, the study reveals low awareness of climate change among policy-makers, human and institutional capacity constraints as some of the key factors militating against the mainstreaming of climate information services. Capacity building of policy makers and institutional strengthening are both vital for more effective mainstreaming of climate services across West Africa.
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