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Perception on untreated wastewater irrigation for vegetable production in Ghana

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Abstract

Using household-level survey data, this study investigates farmers’ perceptions on untreated wastewater use for irrigation of vegetable farms in urban and peri-urban Kumasi of Ghana. Empirical results from an ordered probit model show that there is some relationship between personal characteristics of farmers such as age, education and gender, and perceptions of farmers on health-related risks of untreated wastewater use for irrigation. Policy efforts should be geared toward updating the knowledge, skills and attitudes of producers through frequent training and workshops so that wastewater irrigation farmers in Ghana would better appreciate health-related risks of waster irrigation and how to adopt risk mitigating strategies. Further research for a more in-depth analysis on those relationships in the short-term with immediate emphasis on improving adoption of safer irrigation technologies among wastewater irrigation farmers is recommended.

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Notes

  1. At the time of the survey, US$ 1 = GH¢1.1693 in 2008. GH¢ denotes Ghana Cedi, the official currency of Ghana.

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Acknowledgment

The authors are grateful to the journal editor and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension, Kwame Nkrumah University Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

    Victor Owusu & John-Eudes Andivi Bakang

  2. Department of Biology, Kwame Nkrumah University Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

    Robert Clement Abaidoo

  3. African Development Bank, Tunis-Belvedère, Tunisia

    Modeste Lawakilea Kinane

Authors
  1. Victor Owusu
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  2. John-Eudes Andivi Bakang
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  3. Robert Clement Abaidoo
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  4. Modeste Lawakilea Kinane
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Victor Owusu.

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Readers should send their comments on this paper to BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.

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Owusu, V., Bakang, JE.A., Abaidoo, R.C. et al. Perception on untreated wastewater irrigation for vegetable production in Ghana. Environ Dev Sustain 14, 135–150 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-011-9312-x

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