Pre- and Post-Harvest Practices of Urban Leafy Green Vegetable Farmers in Accra, Ghana and Their Association with Microbial Quality of Vegetables Produced

Joycelyn K. Quansah, Cesar Escalante (), Angela P.-H. Kunadu, Firibu K. Saalia and Jinru Chen
Additional contact information
Joycelyn K. Quansah: Department of Food Science and Technology, The University of Georgia, Griffin, GA 30223, USA
Angela P.-H. Kunadu: Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Ghana, Legon P.O. Box LG 134, Ghana
Firibu K. Saalia: Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Ghana, Legon P.O. Box LG 134, Ghana
Jinru Chen: Department of Food Science and Technology, The University of Georgia, Griffin, GA 30223, USA

Agriculture, 2020, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Vegetable farming is the most practiced urban agriculture in Ghana. A previous study of our laboratory revealed poor microbial quality of, and presence of Salmonella on, leafy green vegetables grown or sold in Accra, Ghana. The aims of this study were to determine agricultural practices of urban vegetable farmers and the association between agricultural practices and microbial safety of vegetables produced. A survey was conducted among 102 farmers from 12 farming areas who produced exotic and indigenous leafy greens in Accra, Ghana to identify their farming practices. It was observed that water from waste drains pumped into shallow wells was used for irrigation by 70% of the farmers. Incompletely composted manure was commonly used (99%) in farming. Vegetables were usually harvested using bare hands (96%) and knives (73%) and transported mainly in sacks (94%) to market centers under non-refrigerated conditions. Over 60% of the farmers disagreed that the use of polluted irrigation water can contaminate vegetables or make consumers sick. According to the seemingly unrelated regression model, farmers with no formal education and less food safety knowledge and had been planting on their current farmlands for several years were likely to produced vegetables with higher fecal coliform and Enterococcus sp. counts compared to other farmers. Vegetables cultivated by farmers who disagreed that the use of contaminated water can make consumers sick were associated with the production of vegetables with high fecal coliform and Enterococcus sp. counts. Education and improved agricultural and post-harvest handling practices should be encouraged among vegetable producers in the area to improve food safety.

Keywords: leafy green vegetable; vegetable farming practice; vegetable safety; manure; irrigation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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