Pre- and Post-Harvest Practices of Urban Leafy Green Vegetable Farmers in Accra, Ghana and Their Association with Microbial Quality of Vegetables Produced
Joycelyn K. Quansah, Cesar L. Escalante, Angela Parry‐Hanson Kunadu, Firibu Kwesi Saalia, Jinru Chen
Agriculture
Urban Farm DB summary
A survey was conducted among 102 urban leafy green vegetable farmers from 12 farming areas in Accra, Ghana, to determine agricultural practices and their association with microbial safety of vegetables produced. It was observed that 70% of farmers used water from waste drains for irrigation, 99% used incompletely composted manure, 96% harvested with bare hands, and over 60% disagreed that polluted irrigation water can contaminate vegetables or make consumers sick. Vegetables cultivated by farmers with no formal education, less food safety knowledge, and those who disagreed about contaminated water causing illness were associated with higher fecal coliform and Enterococcus sp. counts.