Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 6.5 Seller displaying vegetables in the market
the necessary precautions. For example, these farmers have reduced contact
with wastewater during fetching it by not stepping into the water. To further
decrease contamination from the soil, watering cans are lowered during
irrigation (see Figure 6.4) to reduce contamination from splash. Also, only
mature compost is applied. The sellers have stopped displaying their produce
on the floor, now choosing raised shelves and tables (see Figure 6.5). These
practices are expected to be introduced to other farmers and sellers at the
same sites as well as throughout the cities.
C
ONCLUSIONS AND
R
ECOMMENDATIONS
The research demonstrates that typical microbiological and pesticide
contamination levels of vegetables in Ghanaian markets pose a threat to
human health. It has also shown that the majority of microbial and
parasitological contamination of lettuce produced from urban sources in
Accra and Kumasi comes from wastewater, application of manure and
residual soil contamination. Results also show that the post-harvest sector is
probably a relatively minor contributor to lettuce contamination.
Although there is enough general epidemiological evidence in support of
disease transmission through the consumption of contaminated vegetables
