Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
2
Urban Compost: A Socio-economic
and Agronomic Evaluation in
Kumasi, Ghana
Nikita S. Eriksen-Hamel and George Danso
1
I
NTRODUCTION
Uncollected and poorly managed solid and liquid wastes are a health and
environmental hazard, especially to the urban poor who live near informal,
and often illegal, waste dumps. The lack of facilities to collect, transport and
treat municipal, agricultural and industrial wastes poses a major challenge
to the rapidly expanding cities of West Africa. To address this, new
and innovative methods of collection, transport, processing and storage
need to be identified. Composting of municipal wastes and using the compost
for agricultural purposes is a quickly growing and viable option to
managing urban wastes in both the developed and developing world
(Drechsel and Kunze, 2001). Composting provides the environmental
benefit of diverting waste from landfill sites, and health benefits by reducing
the survival and spread of pathogens in wastes. Furthermore, the end product
is a valuable soil fertilizer. The use of urban composts in urban and peri-
urban agriculture (UA and UPA) effectively closes the nutrient cycle in urban
areas and reduces nutrient losses to the environment (Drechsel and Kunze,
2001).
Kumasi is the second largest city in Ghana, with a population of
1,017,000 and a growth rate of 3.1 per cent (Ghana Statistical Service, 2002).
It has a semi-humid tropical climate, with average annual rainfall of about
1500mm. Its central location in the country and relatively well-developed
infrastructure make it a major market and distribution centre for Ghana and
other West African countries. Within the peri-urban area, which covers an
area of approximately 40 km radius around the city centre (Blake and
Kasanga, 1997), are many agri-food industries such as breweries, saw mills
