The Use and Fate of Pesticides in Vegetable-Based Agro-Ecosystems in Ghana

122 Pages·2008·1.61 MB·English

by  William Joseph Ntow

THE USE AND FATE OF PESTICIDES IN VEGETABLE-BASED
AGROECOSYSTEMS IN GHANA
Promoter: Prof. dr. H. J. Gijzen
Professor of Environmental Biotechnology
UNESCO-IHE/Wageningen University
The Netherlands

Co-promoter: Dr. P. Kelderman
Senior lecturer in Environmental Chemistry
UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education
The Netherlands

Awarding Committee: Dr. P. Drechsel
International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Ghana

Prof. dr. P. N. L. Lens
UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education
The Netherlands

Dr. M. A. Siebel
UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education
The Netherlands

Prof. dr. ir. A. Veldkamp
Wageningen University
The Netherlands

Dr. M. Yangyuoru
University of Ghana
Ghana
The use and fate of pesticides in
vegetable-based agroecosystems in Ghana

DISSERTATION

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of
the Academic Board of Wageningen University and
the Academic Board of the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education
for the Degree of DOCTOR
to be defended in public
on Thursday, 17 January 2008 at 15:30 hours
in Delft, The Netherlands

by

WILLIAM JOSEPH NTOW
born in Kumasi, Ghana
Taylor & Francis is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business.

© 2008, William Joseph Ntow

All rights reserved. No part of this publication or the information contained herein may be
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Published by:
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ISBN 978-0-415-46274-7 (Taylor & Francis Group)
ISBN 978-90-8504-836-7 (Wageningen University)
To the memory of Dr. Akosua Werekoa (aka Awo), this thesis is dedicated to her,
my wife, Mrs Bernice Worlanyo Ntow and my parents, Francis Andrews Ntow and
Margaret Kyei (Yaa Saah), whom God has used to bring me this far.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

Chapter 2 Farmer perceptions and pesticide use practices in
vegetable production in Ghana 9

Chapter 3 Dissipation of endosulfan in field-grown tomato (Lycopersicon
esculentum) and cropped soil at Akumadan 27

Chapter 4 The impact of agricultural runoff on the quality of two
streams at Akumadan and Tono 43

Chapter 5 Occupational exposure to pesticides: blood cholinesterase
activity in farmers at Akumadan 57

Chapter 6 Accumulation of persistent organochlorine contaminants
in milk and blood serum of vegetable farmers 71

Chapter 7 Dietary exposure to pesticides from vegetables among
adult farmers at Akumadan 87

Chapter 8 Conclusions and Recommendations 101

Samenvatting 107

About the author 109
Acknowledgements

I offer my sincere thanks to every staff member of the Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research - Water Research Institute (CSIR WRI), Accra, the International Water
Management Institute (IWMI), Ghana Office, Accra, and the UNESCO-IHE Institute for
Water Education, Delft, along with Benjamin Osei Botwe, Jonathan Ameyibor, Laud Mike
Tagoe, friends and colleagues from Kinneret Limnological Laboratory, Migdal, Israel, who
had a hand in producing this thesis.
Firstly, I acknowledge the financial support given to me by the Dutch Government
(through the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education), the International Water
Management Institute, the International Foundation for Science/Organisation for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and the Ghana Government, without which this study
would not have been possible.
I am grateful to Prof. dr. Huub J. Gijzen (Promoter), Dr. Peter Kelderman (Co-promoter)
and Dr. Pay Drechsel (Supervisor) who worked closely with me throughout the period of the
study. Their constructive criticisms, comments and advice helped to shape this thesis. They
also provided encouragement and support to me during the study. They deserve my sincere
thanks.
I am also grateful to my parents, Francis Andrews Ntow, Margaret Kyei Ntow, my
brothers and sisters (Yaw, Grace, Joe, Kwabena, Afua, Ama and Francis), and my Uncle Kyei
Baffour for their prayers, encouragement and moral support.
All my efforts would be impossible without strong spiritual and moral backing of my
beloved wife, Bernice Worlanyo Ntow. She was a strong source of motivation, and provided
secretarial assistance to me during the entire study. My children, Nana Kwasi Ntow, Ama
Saah Ntow and Kwabena Pobi Ntow were sources of moral support and encouragement to
me. These cherished people deserve my sincere thanks.
I am indebted to my friends in the Netherlands, Mr/Mrs Boakye Yiadom (Delft),
Elder/Mrs Bekoe (Delft), Martha (Den Haag), Mary (Den Haag), Apostle Ouadrago and the
entire congregation of Church of Pentecost (Den Haag) who took care of my physical and
spiritual need while in the Netherlands. Also these people deserve my sincere thanks.
Finally, I give Glory to God Almighty through Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour, who
saw me through the entire PhD programme. I owe my very life, and for that matter this
thesis, to God. In His own time, He makes things beautiful. God, I am grateful to you.
1

Chapter 1

Introduction