Irrigated urban vegetable production in Ghana: characteristics, benefits and risk mitigation

Abstract

This chapter serves as an introduction to the book and provides brief information about urbanization in West Africa, and in Ghana in particular, the general role of urban agriculture and the common use of polluted irrigation water. It describes our focus on irrigated smallholder vegetable production and our understanding of the terms 'urban', 'peri-urban' and 'wastewater'. The chapter reflects on some of the key challenges of the farming system, its dynamic and resilience. It also gives an overview on the structure of the book, the origins of the data and the main objective of this publication. 1.1 The Urbanization Challenge Globally, more people are living today in urban as opposed to rural areas. In West Africa, which hosts the megacity of Lagos, the population living in urban areas has increased from only 4% in 1920 to 45% in 2011. The 50% benchmark has been passed in Ghana as in the quickly urbanizing coastal belt of West Africa, while the drier and less populated northern belt of West Africa remains so far mostly rural. For Ghana, a population split of 50.9% urban to 49.1% rural (Table 1.1) has been estimated based on the 2010 census (GSS 2012c).

Microbiological quality of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) irrigated with wastewater in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and effect of green salads washing methods

“…This corresponds with similar studies in West Africa (Drechsel and Keraita 2014). A slightly higher helminth eggs percentage prevalence (64%) in lettuce grown in 4 wastewater irrigated farming sites of Addis Ababa was reported by Habtu (2011).…”

Consumer perceptions of fruit and vegetable quality: certification and other options for safeguarding public health in West Africa

“…However, as the GSA is addressing many sections of life, it is less equipped in terms of staff and resources to follow up on all its responsibilities. For food safety, the GSA is, in part, relying on assistance by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) (Drechsel et al 2014).…”

Foodsheds and City Region Food Systems in Two West African Cities

“…This has been documented for many African and Southeast Asian cities [65] in general and for Tamale and Ouagadougou in particular [33]. According to Drechsel and Keraita (2014) [66], 80% of the cabbage supply was provided by urban agriculture in Tamale. This could not be confirmed by our data according to which only 3.6% and 6.2% of cabbage was sourced from within the urban area in the lean and peak season, respectively.…”