Pre- and Post-Harvest Practices of Urban Leafy Green Vegetable Farmers in Accra, Ghana and Their Association with Microbial Quality of Vegetables Produced
Vegetable farming is the most practiced urban agriculture in Ghana. A previous study of our laboratory revealed poor microbial quality of, and presence of <i>Salmonella</i> on, leafy green vegetables grown or sold in Accra, Ghana. The aims of this study were to determine agricultural pra...
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MDPI AG
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Agriculture |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/10/1/18 |
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| author | Joycelyn K. Quansah Cesar L. Escalante Angela P.-H. Kunadu Firibu K. Saalia Jinru Chen |
| author_facet | Joycelyn K. Quansah Cesar L. Escalante Angela P.-H. Kunadu Firibu K. Saalia Jinru Chen |
| author_sort | Joycelyn K. Quansah |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Vegetable farming is the most practiced urban agriculture in Ghana. A previous study of our laboratory revealed poor microbial quality of, and presence of <i>Salmonella</i> 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 <i>Enterococcus</i> 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 <i>Enterococcus</i> sp. counts. Education and improved agricultural and post-harvest handling practices should be encouraged among vegetable producers in the area to improve food safety. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T19:03:12Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T19:03:12Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
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| series | Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj.art-7fad399f4bbb4fd98a2126f12b1546652022-12-21T23:34:38ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722020-01-011011810.3390/agriculture10010018agriculture10010018Pre- and Post-Harvest Practices of Urban Leafy Green Vegetable Farmers in Accra, Ghana and Their Association with Microbial Quality of Vegetables ProducedJoycelyn K. Quansah0Cesar L. Escalante1Angela P.-H. Kunadu2Firibu K. Saalia3Jinru Chen4Department of Food Science and Technology, The University of Georgia, Griffin, GA 30223, USADepartment of Agricultural and Applied Economics, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USADepartment of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Ghana, Legon P.O. Box LG 134, GhanaDepartment of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Ghana, Legon P.O. Box LG 134, GhanaDepartment of Food Science and Technology, The University of Georgia, Griffin, GA 30223, USAVegetable farming is the most practiced urban agriculture in Ghana. A previous study of our laboratory revealed poor microbial quality of, and presence of <i>Salmonella</i> 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 <i>Enterococcus</i> 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 <i>Enterococcus</i> sp. counts. Education and improved agricultural and post-harvest handling practices should be encouraged among vegetable producers in the area to improve food safety.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/10/1/18leafy green vegetablevegetable farming practicevegetable safetymanureirrigation |
| spellingShingle | Joycelyn K. Quansah Cesar L. Escalante Angela P.-H. Kunadu Firibu K. Saalia Jinru Chen Pre- and Post-Harvest Practices of Urban Leafy Green Vegetable Farmers in Accra, Ghana and Their Association with Microbial Quality of Vegetables Produced Agriculture leafy green vegetable vegetable farming practice vegetable safety manure irrigation |
| title | Pre- and Post-Harvest Practices of Urban Leafy Green Vegetable Farmers in Accra, Ghana and Their Association with Microbial Quality of Vegetables Produced |
| title_full | Pre- and Post-Harvest Practices of Urban Leafy Green Vegetable Farmers in Accra, Ghana and Their Association with Microbial Quality of Vegetables Produced |
| title_fullStr | Pre- and Post-Harvest Practices of Urban Leafy Green Vegetable Farmers in Accra, Ghana and Their Association with Microbial Quality of Vegetables Produced |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pre- and Post-Harvest Practices of Urban Leafy Green Vegetable Farmers in Accra, Ghana and Their Association with Microbial Quality of Vegetables Produced |
| title_short | Pre- and Post-Harvest Practices of Urban Leafy Green Vegetable Farmers in Accra, Ghana and Their Association with Microbial Quality of Vegetables Produced |
| title_sort | pre and post harvest practices of urban leafy green vegetable farmers in accra ghana and their association with microbial quality of vegetables produced |
| topic | leafy green vegetable vegetable farming practice vegetable safety manure irrigation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/10/1/18 |
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