The Use and Fate of Pesticides in Vegetable-Based Agro-Ecosystems in Ghana

Abstract

All rights reserved. No part of this publication or the information contained herein may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, by photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written prior permission from the publishers. Although all care is taken to ensure integrity and the quality of this publication and the information herein, no responsibility is assumed by the publishers nor the author for any damage to the property or persons as a result of operation or use of this publication and/or the information contained herein.Published by: Taylor & Francis/Balkema PO Box 447, 2300 AK Leiden, The Netherlands e-mail: Pub. NL@tandf.co.uk www.balkema.nl, www.taylorandfrancis.co.uk, To the memory of Dr. Akosua Werekoa (aka Awo), this thesis is dedicated to her, my wife, Mrs Bernice Worlanyo Ntow and my parents, Francis Andrews Ntow andMargaret Kyei (Yaa Saah), whom God has used to bring me this far. Contents AcknowledgementsChapter 1 Introduction 1Chapter 2 Farmer perceptions and pesticide use practices in vegetable production in Ghana 9Chapter 3 Dissipation of endosulfan in field-grown tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) and cropped soil at Akumadan 27Chapter 4The impact of agricultural runoff on the quality of two streams at Akumadan and Tono 43Chapter 5 Occupational exposure to pesticides: blood cholinesterase activity in farmers at Akumadan 57Chapter Introduction GeneralWorldwide pesticide usage has increased tremendously since the 1960s. It has largely been responsible for the "green revolution", i.e. the massive increase in food production obtained from the same surface of land with the help of mineral fertilisers (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium), more efficient machinery and intensive irrigation. The use of pesticides helped to significantly reduce crop losses and to improve the yield of crops such as corn, maize, vegetables, potatoes and cotton. Notwithstanding the beneficial effects of pesticides, their adverse effects on environmental quality and human health have been well documented worldwide and constitute a major issue that gives rise to concerns at local, regional, national and global scales (Planas et al., 1997; Huber et al., 2000; Kidd et al., 2001; Cerejeira et al., 2003). Residues of pesticides contaminate soils and water, persist in the crops, enter the food chain, and finally are ingested by humans with foodstuffs and water. Furthermore, pesticides can be held responsible for contributing to biodiversity losses and deterioration of natural habitats (Sattler et al., 2006). There have been reported instances of pest resurgence, development of resistance to pesticides, secondary pest outbreaks and destruction of non-target species. Despite the fact that pesticides are also applied in other sectors, agriculture can undoubtedly be seen as the most important source of adverse effects (Hoyer and Kratz, 2001; cited in Sattler et al., 2006).The application of different pesticides varies with the region. For instance, in North Ameri...

Farmers’ knowledge and perception of the use of pesticides in Arabica coffee, Coffea arabica agro-ecologies of Uganda

“…Our results showed that 68% of the respondents were disposing off the wash-water on their farms while a few (17%) were disposing it in the bush (Table 7a). This supports observations by Ntow (2008) and Okoffo et al (2016). On the other hand, 36% of the respondents were disposing the unused/waste pesticide on their farms while 33% were re-using them and 11% disposing the unused/waste pesticides in the bush (Table 7b).…”

“…It was also notable that 58% of the respondents took into consideration the wind direction during spraying (Table 6h), following the wind as recommended (Ntow, 2008;Afari-Sefa et al, 2015;Khanal and Singh, 2016). However, 37% of the respondents were not considering the direction of the wind while spraying, an observation also made by Atreya et al (2012).…”

Introduction. Pesticides: Past and Present

“…48 In African countries such as Ghana, the combination of powerful multinational corporations and weak and changing governments has prompted public inaction in pesticide control, with serious consequences in water pollution, food contamination, and accumulation of toxic compounds in farmers' bodies, representing "a worst-case example of the problems of the use of pesticides in vegetable production." 49 In the Soviet Union, many chemical weapons plants were reassigned to pesticide production in the 1960s. The scale of pesticide application was intensive and the public health consequences were so serious that an extraordinary amount of research was performed on the impact of pesticide use.…”

Heavy Metal Accumulation at the Bertam Agricultural Watershed in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

“…Runoffs from agricultural areas carry pesticides, heavy metal, soil, organic matter, manure and human waste into streams and rivers causing an increase in volume and change the water quality [5][6][7] especially in areas with high anthropogenic activities. Effects of runoff have been reported in detail by researcher [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Cultivation of vegetables in the highlands provides an opportunity for researchers to study the effects of agricultural runoff during pesticide and heavy metal applications on small rivers in the tropics.…”