Abstract
Background:Globally, Africa is one of the continents that uses the lowest quantity of agrochemicals in farming. However, unsafe chemical use practices are high among farmers in Africa, posing serious health and environmental consequences. This study seeks to address three questions: (1) What factors motivate/compel smallholder farmers in Ghana to use agrochemicals? (2) What safety precautions or unsafe chemical use practices can be found in the communities? (3) What are the health implications of agrochemical use among smallholder farmers in Ghana?Methodology:The study used purposive and simple random sampling techniques to select 136 individuals for the survey, out of which 31 individuals were eliminated, and 105 participants were selected for in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Additionally, participants’ observations were collected, workshops were facilitated, and documents analyses were conducted. Qualitative data were analyzed using NVivo software and the quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 23.0.Findings:The study found that environmental challenges, activities of NGOs, government policy, lack of or high cost of labor, and competition among farmers were major factors influencing farmers’ decisions to use agrochemicals. Present agrochemical use in Ghana poses a risk to health and the environment. Finally, the study discovered chemical poisoning and low self-reported health quality as major health implications of agrochemical use in the communities.
Highlights
Africa is one of the continents that uses the lowest quantity of agrochemicals in farming
Present agrochemical use in Ghana poses a risk to health and the environment
The study found that the majority (85%) of the farmers are moving away from Indigenous farming systems which rely on low input farming to the use of agrochemicals
Summary
Africa is one of the continents that uses the lowest quantity of agrochemicals (agrochemicals are used in this paper to collectively refer to synthetic chemicals including pesticides and fertilizers) in farming. This can be attributed to several factors, including the subsistent nature of farming where most farmers grow crops mainly to feed themselves and only sell the surplus, inability to purchase agrochemicals due to fewer financial resources, low return on investments, and so on.[1,2] Africa accounts for less than 5% of the global pesticides market and only 2% to 4% of usage rate.[3,4] This figure excludes the agrochemicals donated to African countries through philanthrocapitalist organizations spearheading the green revolution.
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