Research Article Pesticide Application among Farmers in ...downloads.hindawi.com/journals/jeph/2015/547272.pdf · Research Article Pesticide Application among Farmers in the Catchment

Research ArticlePesticide Application among Farmers in the Catchment ofAshaiman Irrigation Scheme of Ghana Health Implications

Memuna M Mattah1 Precious A D Mattah2 and Godfred Futagbi3

1Department of Environmental and Development Studies Central University College Accra Ghana2Directorate of Academic Planning and Quality Assurance University of Cape Coast Cape Coast Ghana3Department of Animal Biology and Conservation Science University of Ghana Legon Accra Ghana

Correspondence should be addressed to Godfred Futagbi gfutagbiugedugh

Received 7 July 2015 Revised 26 November 2015 Accepted 2 December 2015

Academic Editor Brian Buckley

Copyright copy 2015 Memuna M Mattah et al This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons AttributionLicense which permits unrestricted use distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original work is properlycited

Pesticide use in modern day agriculture has increased tremendously Pesticides are used to control pests and weeds as well asprotect crops from postharvest losses however their effects on humans and the environment cannot be overstated This studyexamined pesticide acquisition handling and use among 120 farmers within the catchment of a small urban irrigation schemeAlso in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were conducted among selected farmers through which further data wascollected to augment that of the survey Twelve types of pesticides including herbicides insecticides and fungicides were foundin use in the study areas Three main sources of information about pesticides were identified 433 from extension officers 392from agrochemical dealers and 10 from colleague farmers Seventy-five percent (75) of the respondents purchased the pesticidesfrom agrochemical shops Out of 74 farmers who were observed spraying pesticides on their farms only 257 wore dresses thatcovered their whole body but without goggles About sixty-seven percent (667) of the farmers whose chemical got finished left thecontainers on their farms or threw them into the bushes around The frequency of application was influenced by affordability andsize of farm among others The study recommended that training of farmers on pesticide handling and use should be intensified

1 Introduction

Agriculture remains the main economic stay of GhanaIt employs over 50 of the labour force and contributesabove 20 to the GDP [1 2] In spite of this agriculturalpractices in Ghana remain rudimentary resulting in lowyields and productivity [3] As a way of curbing low yieldsand productivity farmers resort to the use of pesticidesPesticide use among farmers in Ghana has reached its peakin recent years especially for controlling weeds pests andpreservation of harvested crops [3] In Ghana pesticidesare applied mainly to cash crops and vegetables [4] Whilemany farmers lack adequate information about the hazardsassociatedwith handling and use of pesticides several reportsdiscussed the effects of pesticides on the environment and onthe health of farmers [5ndash8]

The government of Ghana in mid-1960s constructedan irrigation dam in Ashaiman a fast developing city in

the Greater Accra region of Ghana The dam has since itsconstruction helped farmers in Ashaiman and its environsin the cultivation of various crops especially vegetables andrice for the urban market It is therefore important that theincessant use of agricultural pesticides among the farmers beconstantly investigated in order to assess the possible publicand environmental health risk that may be associated withtheir use This paper is aimed at evaluating the completechain from information on pesticides mode of acquisitionhandling use and disposal of waste containers amongfarmers in the environs of Ashaiman in Ghana It was part ofa major study on the effect of urbanization on water qualityin the Ashaiman Irrigation Scheme

2 Methods

21 Study Area The survey was conducted in four com-munities found within the catchment of Dzorwulu stream

Hindawi Publishing CorporationJournal of Environmental and Public HealthVolume 2015 Article ID 547272 7 pageshttpdxdoiorg1011552015547272

2 Journal of Environmental and Public Health

N Eastern Region GreaterAccra

Volta

Study area

UpperWest

Upper East

Northern

Brong Ahafo Volta

Ashanti

WesternLashibi

Ashaiman

Katamanso

Tema

Zenu

Lebanon

Kubekro5∘46

998400N

5∘44

998400N

5∘42

998400N

5∘40

998400N

5∘38

998400N

5∘46

998400N

5∘44

998400N

5∘42

998400N

5∘40

998400N

5∘38

998400N

0∘8998400W 0

∘6998400W 0

∘4998400W 0

∘2998400W 0

∘0998400W

0∘8998400W 0

∘6998400W 0

∘4998400W 0

∘2998400W 0

∘0998400W

(km)0 07515 3

To Accra

Tema motorway

To A

fieny

a

Central

StreamsMajor roads

ReservoirsStudy boundary

Sampling sites

AS1AS2

AS3

AS4AS5

AS6

AS7

AS8

Figure 1 Map of the study area

which was dammed into the Ashaiman irrigation schemeThese communities include Katamanso Kubekro Zenu andLebanon (Figure 1) While the first-three communities arelocated north of the irrigation scheme Lebanon on the otherhand shares boundary with the irrigated lands and for thatmatter hasmost farmers whowork on the irrigated fieldsThestreamwas dammed betweenZenu and Lebanon and drainedinto the sea through the Sakumo Lagoon Farmers cultivatedifferent types of crops such as okra cabbage pepper lettucemaize and rice for the urban markets Crops such as cassavaand maize are mainly cultivated at the upstream of theirrigation scheme

22 Data Collection A survey instrument was developedpretested and administered to 120 households which wereinvolved in farming activities within the catchment of thestreamThe distribution of households selected for the surveywas 25 each from Katamanso and Kubekro 30 from Zenuand 40 from Lebanon based upon population of farminghouseholds in the communities Households were randomlysampled from houses that had been selected systematicallythrough the sampling of every 5th house in each communitystarting from the northernmost house of the community

using a handheld Garmin Global Positioning System (GPS)navigator (Garmin Inc Kansas USA) Final selection ofhouseholds was based on engagement in crop cultivationThe survey instrument solicited information on ownershipof farm(s) types of crops cultivated sources of informationon pesticides sources of pesticides knowledge on pesticidesand frequency of use of pesticides among others Twofocus group discussions (FGDs) were organized for furtherinformation to augment what was gathered through thesurvey Selected farmers from the two upstream communi-ties Kubekro and Katamanso were organized for the firstFGDThe second FGD was organized for Zenu and Lebanonwhich were in the midstream and downstream respectivelyObservations were also made on use of protective clothesduring spraying of pesticides and on the disposal of pesticidescontainers after use The importance of the survey wasexplained to the farmers and their consent was sought beforeits administration

23 Data Analysis TheStatistical Package for Social Sciences(SPSS) version 16 (SPSS Inc Chicago IL) was used incapturing cleaning and analyzing the data All charts andtables were drawn using Microsoft excel 2007 and GraphPad

Journal of Environmental and Public Health 3

Table 1 Farmerrsquos personal information

Characteristics Variable () CommunityKubekro Katamanso Zenu Lebanon

Gender Male 600 520 567 525Female 400 480 433 475

Educational status

None 160 320 200 200Primary 160 280 400 300MiddleJSS 320 160 400 200Secondary 240 80 160 175Postsecondary 80 160 40 75Tertiary 40 00 00 50

Age group

Below 20 80 160 167 12520ndash29 280 160 167 20030ndash39 320 200 200 20040ndash49 200 200 267 17550ndash59 80 160 67 12560+ 40 120 133 175

119873 120 25 25 30 40

Prism (GraphPad Prism GraphPad Software San Diego CAUSA) Using content analysis techniques various themeswhich espoused the views of farmers were derived from theFGDs

3 Results

31 Background of Farmers The background characteristicsof the 120 farmers who responded to the survey are presentedin Table 1 Forty percent and 48 of the respondents fromKubekro and Katamanso respectively were females and 45of all respondents were females At least over 50 of allrespondents had up to secondary education while about22 had no education With regard to age distributionapproximately 13 were below 20 and most (over 70) werebetween 20 and 60 years of age

32 Ownership of Fields and Farming Practices among Respon-dents Eighty percent (80) of respondents had only onewhile 15 had two and 5 had three or more fields on whichthey farmed in the scheme area Size of the farms varies with76 below one hectare 9 of approximately one hectareand 6 between one and five hectares (Figure 2) Forty-three (43) percent of the respondents owned the fields theycultivated while 824 of those who did not own the fieldscultivated them on leasehold and the rest cultivated them onsharecropping basis

33 Types of Crops Cultivated by the Farmers and CulturalPractices Types of crops grown by farmers include maizecassava vegetables rice and fruits Fifty percent (50) ofthe respondents cultivated maize 29 vegetables 125 riceand the rest cassava and fruits Maize cassava and fruitswere mainly grown in the upstream of the scheme that isin Katamanso and Kubekro while vegetables were cultivatedin midstream and downstream in Zenu and Lebanon Rice

Approximately1ha 91

lt5ha 61

lt1ha 758

Figure 2 Average size of fields owned by respondents

Table 2 Type of crop and size of farm

Crop Size of farm Totallt1 ha 1 ha gt5 ha

Maize 39 11 8 58Rice 15 0 0 15Vegetablesfruits 40 0 0 40Cassava 7 0 0 7

was mainly cultivated in the downstream of the scheme atLebanon area Tomatoes okra and pepper were the mainvegetables and watermelon was the main fruit grown inthe study areas Additionally apart from maize which wascultivated on all sizes of farm the rest of the cropswere grownon less than one-hectare farmland (Table 2)

Herbicides were mainly used by 417 of the respondentsto clear the lands of weeds for planting of crops while 242used slash and burn to control the weeds About twenty-fourpercent (242) of the respondents used machines to ploughthe weeds with the soil that is if the weeds were not too


Table 3 Type of pesticides in-use at various farm sites

Pesticides PercentagesRespondents Lebanon Kubekro Katamanso Zenu

Cydim superEC 58 08 33 17 00

Round up 350 600 00 00 80Gramoxone 83 50 00 00 222Pawa 33 25 00 00 83Dimethoate 100 100 95 261 00Dursban 08 25 00 00 00Karate 117 75 143 217 83Master 42 00 48 174 00Stam F34 17 25 00 00 28Topcope 08 25 00 00 00Chemosate 08 25 00 00 00

grown Results show that 667 and 625 of farmers in Zenuand Lebanon respectively were the main user of herbicidesOn the other hand majority (364) of the farmers whoused machines to plough the weeds were from KubekroRudimentary instruments such as hoes and cutlasses were themost used by 842 of the respondents for turning the soilAlmost 59 of the respondents engaged in monocroppingand 414 did crop rotation

34 Pesticides In-Use in Ashaiman Twelve different types ofpesticides were in-use in Ashaiman and its environs Thirty-five percent of the respondents used round-up (glyphosate41) while 83 used gramoxone (paraquat 276 gL) forcontrolling weeds Also 117 and 10 used karate (Lambda-cyhalothrin 25 gL) and dimethoate (dimethoate 400 gL)respectively for controlling insect pests Topcope (sulphur50 and copper sulphate 84) was the only fungicidein-use in the study areas In exception of Master (Bifen-thrin) all the pesticides were used by respondents inLebanon suburb of Ashaiman where the irrigation fieldsare found All those who used Dursban (Chlorpyrifos-ethyl 480 gL) were in Lebanon Five of the pesticides wereused in Zenu and these include karate (Lambda-cyhalothrin25 gL) round-up (glyphosate 41) Stam F34 (Propanil360 gL) Pawa (Lambda-cyhalothrin 25 gL) and gramoxone(paraquat 276 gL) Only four of the pesticides were used inKubekro (Topcope Master karate and Cydim super EC) andKatamanso (Cydim super EC gramoxone dimethoate andMaster) Additionally karate was used in all the communities(Table 3)

The pesticides were grouped into insecticides herbicidesand fungicides Insecticides and herbicides were mostly usedcompared to the fungicides With regard to WHOFAOclassification most of the pesticides belong to category IIof moderately hazardous chemicals (712) out of which 6were insecticides Indeed all synthetic insecticides belong tocategory II (Table 4)

35 Pesticide Application Seventy percent (70) of the farm-ers had been using pesticides for over 5 years whereas only

Crop

Resp

onde

nts (

)

0

5

10

15

20

Carr

ot

Cucu

mbe

r

Wat

erm

elon

Cabb

age

Lettu

ce

Mai

ze

Tom

atoe

s

Pepp

er

Okr

a

Rice

Figure 3 Crops to which pesticides were applied

83 did not use synthetic pesticides at all in their farmingactivities Those who did not use the synthetic pesticidesrather used natural repellants such as neem (Azadirachtaindica) seed extracts to control pests Though 80 of therespondents stated that the pesticides were readily availableon sale in Ashaiman only 358 found the pesticides tobe affordable and as much as 51 found them to be tooexpensive

The pesticides were applied to prepare the lands and tocontrol pests of various crops (Figure 3) Over 18 of thefarmers applied pesticides to maize farms 15 to pepper and13 to lettuce In the focus group discussions the discussantsmentioned that the frequency of application of pesticidesdepended first and foremost on farmerrsquos ability to purchasethe pesticide followed by type of weed (if it is herbicide) typeof crop size of farm and type of pests attacking the crops inthat order Majority (342) of the respondents applied thepesticides twice while 283 applied them three times in afarming season Another 283 applied them four or moretimes depending on the extent of infestation by pests Thedata show that those who applied the pesticides more thanthree times cultivate less than one-hectare farms (Table 5)Quantity pesticides used among farmers ranged from 50mLto 2000mL per applicationThe first application of pesticidesto crops by most respondents (883) occurs between 2ndand 3rdweeks of planting A second application is done if it isnecessary normally in the 6th and 7th weeks as stated by 32of the respondents Other applications occurred as and whenthe farmers felt it was needed It is worth noting that 5th andsubsequent applications were done for vegetables (Table 6)

Out of 74 farmers who were observed spraying pesticideson their farms 365 used nose guards 459 used boots31 used hand gloves and 257 wore dresses that coveredthe whole body except the eyes (Figure 4) Farmers wereobserved mixing different types of pesticides for sprayingThe ldquococktailrdquo of pesticides they believed had increasedpotency for fast control of pestsThe FGDs revealed thatmostfarmers did not read and for that matter did not adhere tothe instructions on how to apply the pesticidesThey howeverreceived the information on the quantity of pesticides to use


Table 4 Active ingredients in the pesticides used by farmers and WHOFAO classification

Types of pesticides Common name Active ingredients WHOFAO classification

Herbicides

Stam F 34 Propanil 360 gL IIIRound-up Glyphosate 41 IIIGramoxone Paraquat 276 gL IIChemosate Glyphosate 41 III

Insecticides

Dimethoate Dimethoate 400 gL IIDursban 4E Chlorpyrifos-ethyl 480 gL IIPawa 25 EC Lambda-cyhalothrin 25 gL IICydim super Dimethoate 400 g and cypermethrin 36 g IIKarate 25 EC Lambda-cyhalothrin 25 gL IIMaster Bifenthrin IINeem seed extracts Azadirachtin U

Fungicides Topcope Sulphur 50 and copper sulphate 84 IIINote II = moderately hazardous III = slightly hazardous U = unlikely to present acute hazard in normal use [9]

Table 5 Size of farm and frequency of application

Frequency ofapplication

Size of farm Totallt1 ha 1 ha gt5 ha

Once 9 0 0 9Twice 25 4 5 34Three times 22 3 3 28Four times 15 0 0 155ndash10 times 7 0 0 7More than 10times 4 0 0 4

Notapplicablelowast 19 4 0 23

Total 101 11 8 120lowastNot applicable refers to farmers who used neem seed extracts

Table 6 Type of crop and frequency of application of pesticides


Crops TotalVegetables Maize Rice Cassava

Once 2 3 3 1 9Twice 8 16 5 6 35Three times 7 19 4 0 30Four times 7 5 0 0 125ndash10 times 6 0 0 0 6More than 10times 5 0 0 0 5

Notapplicablelowast 5 15 3 0 23

Total 40 58 15 7 120lowastNot applicable refers to farmers who used neem seed extracts

and how to apply them from the vendors colleague farmersand extension officers Field observations showed that emptypesticide containers were thrown into nearby bushes afteruse At least 16 out of 24 (667) of those whose chemicals gotfinished left the containers on their farm or threw them into

Resp

onde

nts (

)

Nose guard Boots Gloves Goggles0

10

20

30

40

50

Alllowast

Figure 4 Personal protective equipment lowastAll gears except goggles

the nearby bushes On how the chemicals were preservedmost (86) farmers acknowledged keeping the chemicals intheir homes and not on the field for fear of theft

36 Sources of Information and Acquisition of PesticideInformation on particular pesticides to use on crops wasobtained from three sources About forty-three percent(433) of the respondents had information about variouspesticides through training programmes organized by agri-cultural extension officers Also 392 of the respondentshad information from agrochemical dealers in Ashaimanand its environs while 10 of them received theirs fromcolleague farmers Most (75) of the respondents purchasedthe pesticides from agrochemical shops while 108 acquiredtheirs from other sources such as friends and relatives

4 Discussion

The importance of pesticides in modern agriculture cannotbe overemphasized however use of pesticides comes withconcerns regarding public and farmersrsquo health as well asenvironmental pollution Health problems associated with


pesticide use especially in farmers in developing countriesare well documented [10 11] The data indicate that mostof the farmers had attained levels of education that shouldenable them to read in spite of the fact that many of themdo not read the labels and instructions on pesticides beforeusing them They rather depend on the recommendationfrom chemical dealers extension officers colleagues andsometimes their own intuition on how to apply the pesticidesThe reason for this is not clear but it has been shownthat farmers prefer to rely on pesticide sellers extensionofficers and peer farmers rather than reading instructionson or flyers attached to the chemicals [12] The attitude offarmers in this study is similar to that studied by Alam andWolff [12]Therefore equipping pesticide sellers with relevantand adequate information and involving them in farmereducation on pesticide use will greatly complement the workof the extension workers [12]

Lack of adequate knowledge about pesticide use hadreflected in the poor handling frequency and timing of appli-cation of the chemicals with serious health consequencesThe farmers mentioned that the frequency of application ofpesticides depends first and foremost on farmerrsquos ability topurchase the pesticide followed by type of weed type ofcrop size of farm and type of pests attacking the crops inthat order In spite of the above the quantity of pesticidesused per application among respondents ranged from 50mLto 2000mL indicating that there could be underdoses oroverdoses depending on the size of the field The resultsshow that those who applied the pesticides more than threetimes cultivated farms less than one hectare in size A smallfarm actually favours the foremost factor that influences thefrequency of application that is the ability to afford to pay forthe pesticides Obviously those having small farmswould liketo keep productivity high as well and they do this by frequentuse of chemicals [13] This implies that access to bigger farmsmay be an antidote to indiscriminate use of pesticides

Most commonly used pesticides were herbicides andinsecticides with a minimal use of fungicides Insecticide usewas higher among the vegetables maize and rice farmersthan cassava Herbicide use was high among rice farmersand the reason for that is high cost and nonavailabilityof farm labour in the urban areas The use of protectiveclothes among farmers was low as reported in other partsof the country and elsewhere [7 8] The results show thatmost of the pesticides and all the synthetic insecticides werecategory II chemicals Though in applying categories I andII chemicals farmers were supposed to wear appropriatepersonal protective equipment that covers the entire body[14] only 26 of the farmers covered their body except theeyes when applying the pesticides Additionally less than50 of the farmers used either of the protective equipmentitems such as nose guards boots and gloves while noneused goggles This shows that the farmers had dangerouslyexposed themselves to the toxic chemicals Some of thepesticides for example organophosphate pesticides such asdursban are known to have negative consequence on properfunctioning of the nervous system [15 16] Additionally it isemerging that glyphosate (the active ingredient in round-upthe most commonly used pesticide in the study area) which

was thought to be not harmful to humans and animals isactually harmful Among others glyphosate is now associatedwith cancer and known to destroy beneficial bacteria inhumans thereby allowing pathogenic ones to overgrow andoverwhelm the body [17 18]

The data also indicate the need to educate farmers on themode of storage of pesticides and disposal of pesticide wastesHigh numbers of farmers store their chemicals at home andthis could lead to increase in morbidity or injury rate amongfarmersrsquo families The disposal methods are of equal concernsince these can affect the larger community resulting fromleaching of the pesticides into water bodies which can leadto accidental ingestion

5 Conclusions

In order to maximize output on the limited land farmers arebent on practicing modern agricultural methods includingthe use of pesticides to protect their crops from pest damageThere is therefore the need to increase the number of exten-sion officers to educate farmers on the right use of pesticidesand equipping pesticide sellers with relevant information andinvolving them in farmer education on pesticide use willcomplement the work of the extension workers It would beprudent for the Environmental ProtectionAgency tomonitorthe proper disposal of pesticide containers to avert poisoningand environmental pollution

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interestsregarding the publication of this paper

Authorsrsquo Contribution

All authors contributed equally to the development of theconcepts data collection and analysis and writing of thepaper

Acknowledgments

The study was funded by United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP) and Centre for African Wetlands Uni-versity of Ghana Legon

References

[1] Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) Statistics for Developmentand Progress National Accounts Statistics Ghana Statisti-cal Service (GSS) 2014 httpwwwstatsghanagovghdocfilesGDPGDP 2014pdf

[2] CIAWorld Factbook ldquoEconomyrdquoDecember 2015 httpswwwciagovlibrarypublicationsthe-world-factbookgeosghhtml

[3] D Horna M Smale R Al-Hassan J Falck-Zepeda and S ETimpo ldquoInsecticides use on vegetables in Ghana would GMseed benefit farmersrdquo IFPRI Discussion Paper 007855 2008

[4] A Gerken A Suglo and M Braun Crop Protection Policyin Ghana Integrated Crop Protection Project PPRSDGTZAccra Ghana 2001


[5] W J Ntow H J Gijzen P Kelderman and P Drechsel ldquoFarmerperceptions and pesticide use practices in vegetable productionin Ghanardquo Pest Management Science vol 62 no 4 pp 356ndash3652006

[6] K Asante and W Ntow ldquoStatus of environmental contam-ination in Ghana the perspective of a research scientistrdquoin Interdisciplinary Studies on Environmental Chemistry YObayashi T Isobe A Subramanian S Suzuki and S TanabeEds pp 253ndash260 2009

[7] G Owusu-Boateng and K K Amuzu ldquoA survey of somecritical issues in vegetable crops farming along River Oyansiain Opeibea and Dzorwulu Accra-Ghanardquo Global AdvancedResearch Journal of Physical and Applied Sciences vol 2no 2 pp 24ndash31 2013 httpbetagarjorggarjpaspdf2013septemberBoateng20and20Amuzupdf

[8] A A Jamali A R Solangi N Memon and S M NizamanildquoA current scenario of pesticide practices among farmers forvegetable production a case study in Lower Sindh PakistanrdquoInternational Journal of Development and Sustainability vol 3no 3 pp 493ndash504 2014 httpwwwisdsnetcomijds

[9] World Health Organization (WHO The WHO RecommendedClassification of Pesticides by Hazard and Guidelines to Clas-sification IPCSIOMC A Cooperative agreement among FAOILO UNEP UNIDO UNITAR WHO amp OECD 2009

[10] International Labour Organisation (ILO) Safety and Healthin the Use of Agrochemicals A Guide An ILO Contributionto the International Programme on Chemical Safety (ACollaborative Programme of the United Nations EnvironmentProgramme the International Labour Organisation and theWorld Health Organization) International Labour 1991httpwwwiloorgwcmsp5groupspubliced protectpro-travsafeworkdocumentsinstructionalmaterialwcms 110196pdf

[11] S J Miah A Hoque A Paul and A Rahman ldquoUnsafe useof pesticide and its impact on health of farmers a case studyin Burichong Upazila Bangladeshrdquo Journal of EnvironmentalScience Toxicology and Food Technology vol 8 no 1 pp 57ndash672014

[12] S A Alam and H Wolff ldquoDo Pesticide Sellers Make FarmersSick Health Information Sources and Adoption of Tech-nology in Bangladeshrdquo 2014 httpfacultywashingtoneduhgwolffAlamWolffpdf

[13] W Aktar D Sengupta and A Chowdhury ldquoImpact of pesti-cides use in agriculture their benefits and hazardsrdquo Interdisci-plinary Toxicology vol 2 no 1 pp 1ndash12 2009

[14] Montana State University ldquoPersonal Protective Equipment(PPE) for Pesticide Applicatorsrdquo 2005 httpwwwpesticidesmontanaedureferenceppehtm

[15] Y Yurumez PDurukan Y Yavuz et al ldquoAcute organophosphatepoisoning in university hospital emergency room patientsrdquoInternal Medicine vol 46 no 13 pp 965ndash969 2007

[16] V Pandit S Seshadri S N Rao C Samarasinghe A Kumarand R Valsalan ldquoA case of organophosphate poisoning present-ing with seizure and unavailable history of parenteral suicideattemptrdquo Journal of Emergencies Trauma and Shock vol 4 no1 pp 132ndash134 2011

[17] A J De Roos A Blair J A Rusiecki et al ldquoCancer incidenceamong glyphosate-exposed pesticide applicators in the Agricul-tural Health Studyrdquo Environmental Health Perspectives vol 113no 1 pp 49ndash54 2005

[18] Gut-Wrenching New Studies Reveal the Insidious Effectsof Glyphosate June 2015 httparticlesmercolacomsitesarticlesarchive20140415glyphosate-health-effectsaspx

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Stem CellsInternational

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014


MEDIATORSINFLAMMATION

of


Behavioural Neurology

EndocrinologyInternational Journal of



Disease Markers


BioMed Research International

OncologyJournal of



Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity


PPAR Research

The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Immunology ResearchHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Journal of

ObesityJournal of



Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine

OphthalmologyJournal of


Diabetes ResearchJournal of



Research and TreatmentAIDS


Gastroenterology Research and Practice


Parkinsonrsquos Disease

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Volume 2014Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom


N Eastern Region GreaterAccra

Volta

Study area

UpperWest

Upper East

Northern

Brong Ahafo Volta

Ashanti

WesternLashibi

Ashaiman

Katamanso

Tema

Zenu

Lebanon

Kubekro5∘46

998400N

5∘44

998400N

5∘42

998400N

5∘40

998400N

5∘38

998400N

5∘46

998400N

5∘44

998400N

5∘42

998400N

5∘40

998400N

5∘38

998400N

0∘8998400W 0

∘6998400W 0

∘4998400W 0

∘2998400W 0

∘0998400W

0∘8998400W 0

∘6998400W 0

∘4998400W 0

∘2998400W 0

∘0998400W

(km)0 07515 3

To Accra

Tema motorway

To A

fieny

a

Central

StreamsMajor roads

ReservoirsStudy boundary

Sampling sites

AS1AS2

AS3

AS4AS5

AS6

AS7

AS8

Figure 1 Map of the study area

which was dammed into the Ashaiman irrigation schemeThese communities include Katamanso Kubekro Zenu andLebanon (Figure 1) While the first-three communities arelocated north of the irrigation scheme Lebanon on the otherhand shares boundary with the irrigated lands and for thatmatter hasmost farmers whowork on the irrigated fieldsThestreamwas dammed betweenZenu and Lebanon and drainedinto the sea through the Sakumo Lagoon Farmers cultivatedifferent types of crops such as okra cabbage pepper lettucemaize and rice for the urban markets Crops such as cassavaand maize are mainly cultivated at the upstream of theirrigation scheme

22 Data Collection A survey instrument was developedpretested and administered to 120 households which wereinvolved in farming activities within the catchment of thestreamThe distribution of households selected for the surveywas 25 each from Katamanso and Kubekro 30 from Zenuand 40 from Lebanon based upon population of farminghouseholds in the communities Households were randomlysampled from houses that had been selected systematicallythrough the sampling of every 5th house in each communitystarting from the northernmost house of the community

using a handheld Garmin Global Positioning System (GPS)navigator (Garmin Inc Kansas USA) Final selection ofhouseholds was based on engagement in crop cultivationThe survey instrument solicited information on ownershipof farm(s) types of crops cultivated sources of informationon pesticides sources of pesticides knowledge on pesticidesand frequency of use of pesticides among others Twofocus group discussions (FGDs) were organized for furtherinformation to augment what was gathered through thesurvey Selected farmers from the two upstream communi-ties Kubekro and Katamanso were organized for the firstFGDThe second FGD was organized for Zenu and Lebanonwhich were in the midstream and downstream respectivelyObservations were also made on use of protective clothesduring spraying of pesticides and on the disposal of pesticidescontainers after use The importance of the survey wasexplained to the farmers and their consent was sought beforeits administration

23 Data Analysis TheStatistical Package for Social Sciences(SPSS) version 16 (SPSS Inc Chicago IL) was used incapturing cleaning and analyzing the data All charts andtables were drawn using Microsoft excel 2007 and GraphPad





Educational status


Age group


119873 120 25 25 30 40


3 Results




Approximately1ha 91

lt5ha 61

lt1ha 758
















Crop

Resp

onde

nts (

)

0

5

10

15

20

Carr

ot

Cucu

mbe

r

Wat

erm

elon

Cabb

age

Lettu

ce

Mai

ze

Tom

atoe

s

Pepp

er

Okr

a

Rice








Herbicides


Insecticides
















Resp

onde

nts (

)


10

20

30

40

50

Alllowast




4 Discussion








5 Conclusions






Acknowledgments


References

























of






Disease Markers



OncologyJournal of





PPAR Research



Journal of

ObesityJournal of




















Educational status


Age group


119873 120 25 25 30 40


3 Results




Approximately1ha 91

lt5ha 61

lt1ha 758
















Crop

Resp

onde

nts (

)

0

5

10

15

20

Carr

ot

Cucu

mbe

r

Wat

erm

elon

Cabb

age

Lettu

ce

Mai

ze

Tom

atoe

s

Pepp

er

Okr

a

Rice








Herbicides


Insecticides
















Resp

onde

nts (

)


10

20

30

40

50

Alllowast




4 Discussion








5 Conclusions






Acknowledgments


References

























of






Disease Markers



OncologyJournal of





PPAR Research



Journal of

ObesityJournal of

























Crop

Resp

onde

nts (

)

0

5

10

15

20

Carr

ot

Cucu

mbe

r

Wat

erm

elon

Cabb

age

Lettu

ce

Mai

ze

Tom

atoe

s

Pepp

er

Okr

a

Rice








Herbicides


Insecticides
















Resp

onde

nts (

)


10

20

30

40

50

Alllowast




4 Discussion








5 Conclusions






Acknowledgments


References

























of






Disease Markers



OncologyJournal of





PPAR Research



Journal of

ObesityJournal of



















Herbicides


Insecticides
















Resp

onde

nts (

)


10

20

30

40

50

Alllowast




4 Discussion








5 Conclusions






Acknowledgments


References

























of






Disease Markers



OncologyJournal of





PPAR Research



Journal of

ObesityJournal of






















5 Conclusions






Acknowledgments


References

























of






Disease Markers



OncologyJournal of





PPAR Research



Journal of

ObesityJournal of




































of






Disease Markers



OncologyJournal of





PPAR Research



Journal of

ObesityJournal of





















of






Disease Markers



OncologyJournal of





PPAR Research



Journal of

ObesityJournal of
















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