The food and environment we love; Examining the ‘on-the-ground’ application of the 4R Nutrient Stewardship in Ghana
The past few years have witnessed emphasis on food security and sustainable farming— Sustainable Development Goal 2, zero hunger. Discourse on food production highlight knowledge and sources of advice on fertilisers use appears to influence farmers' efficient application of fertilisers. Yet, th...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences and Humanities Open |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590291123000864 |
| _version_ | 1797845587930906624 |
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| author | Dickson Boateng Christopher Atkinson Francis Arthur-Holmes Evans Amoako Amoah |
| author_facet | Dickson Boateng Christopher Atkinson Francis Arthur-Holmes Evans Amoako Amoah |
| author_sort | Dickson Boateng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The past few years have witnessed emphasis on food security and sustainable farming— Sustainable Development Goal 2, zero hunger. Discourse on food production highlight knowledge and sources of advice on fertilisers use appears to influence farmers' efficient application of fertilisers. Yet, the research literature is silent on farmers' knowledge of fertilisers, its use and impacts on the environment in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper sets out to investigate the knowledge farmers have on the environment and analyse if they apply fertilisers in an environmentally efficient manner.Data was pulled from face-to-face administered questionnaires with 635 farmers in the Offinso Municipality, Ghana. Results showed that 94.0% of the farmers did apply fertilisers. Further, 47.8% of the 594 farmers who applied fertilisers relied on their accumulated knowledge with none applying fertilisers in accordance with the 4R Nutrient Stewardship — right type, right place, right time, and right rate. However, 60.6% of those who applied fertilisers were not aware that the inefficient application of fertilisers could harm the environment. Although the key role of extension officers in sustainable farming was acknowledged by farmers, access to extension services remained a problem.This paper suggests that extension officers should be supported by the agricultural institutions and the government to implement the 4R Nutrient Stewardship guidelines at the ground level to promote sustainable farming. Also, extension officers seeking to promote sustainable farming must intensify efforts in disseminating information on the 4Rs to farmers to secure the food and protect the environment we love. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T17:42:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-231adfc309c64498b42ddef6984472a9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2590-2911 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T17:42:32Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences and Humanities Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-231adfc309c64498b42ddef6984472a92023-04-17T04:07:51ZengElsevierSocial Sciences and Humanities Open2590-29112023-01-0171100481The food and environment we love; Examining the ‘on-the-ground’ application of the 4R Nutrient Stewardship in GhanaDickson Boateng0Christopher Atkinson1Francis Arthur-Holmes2Evans Amoako Amoah3Department of Geography, Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland; Corresponding author.Natural Resource Institute, University of Greenwich, ME4 4TB, England, UKDepartment of Sociology and Social Policy, Lingnan University, 8 Castle Peak Road, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong, ChinaDepartment of Silviculture and Forest Management, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, GhanaThe past few years have witnessed emphasis on food security and sustainable farming— Sustainable Development Goal 2, zero hunger. Discourse on food production highlight knowledge and sources of advice on fertilisers use appears to influence farmers' efficient application of fertilisers. Yet, the research literature is silent on farmers' knowledge of fertilisers, its use and impacts on the environment in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper sets out to investigate the knowledge farmers have on the environment and analyse if they apply fertilisers in an environmentally efficient manner.Data was pulled from face-to-face administered questionnaires with 635 farmers in the Offinso Municipality, Ghana. Results showed that 94.0% of the farmers did apply fertilisers. Further, 47.8% of the 594 farmers who applied fertilisers relied on their accumulated knowledge with none applying fertilisers in accordance with the 4R Nutrient Stewardship — right type, right place, right time, and right rate. However, 60.6% of those who applied fertilisers were not aware that the inefficient application of fertilisers could harm the environment. Although the key role of extension officers in sustainable farming was acknowledged by farmers, access to extension services remained a problem.This paper suggests that extension officers should be supported by the agricultural institutions and the government to implement the 4R Nutrient Stewardship guidelines at the ground level to promote sustainable farming. Also, extension officers seeking to promote sustainable farming must intensify efforts in disseminating information on the 4Rs to farmers to secure the food and protect the environment we love.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590291123000864Sustainable farmingAgriculture extensionFood securityEnvironment4RsGhana |
| spellingShingle | Dickson Boateng Christopher Atkinson Francis Arthur-Holmes Evans Amoako Amoah The food and environment we love; Examining the ‘on-the-ground’ application of the 4R Nutrient Stewardship in Ghana Social Sciences and Humanities Open Sustainable farming Agriculture extension Food security Environment 4Rs Ghana |
| title | The food and environment we love; Examining the ‘on-the-ground’ application of the 4R Nutrient Stewardship in Ghana |
| title_full | The food and environment we love; Examining the ‘on-the-ground’ application of the 4R Nutrient Stewardship in Ghana |
| title_fullStr | The food and environment we love; Examining the ‘on-the-ground’ application of the 4R Nutrient Stewardship in Ghana |
| title_full_unstemmed | The food and environment we love; Examining the ‘on-the-ground’ application of the 4R Nutrient Stewardship in Ghana |
| title_short | The food and environment we love; Examining the ‘on-the-ground’ application of the 4R Nutrient Stewardship in Ghana |
| title_sort | food and environment we love examining the on the ground application of the 4r nutrient stewardship in ghana |
| topic | Sustainable farming Agriculture extension Food security Environment 4Rs Ghana |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590291123000864 |
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