Health Risk Assessment of Organochlorine Pesticides Contaminations in Dairy Products from Selected Farms in Greater Accra Region-Ghana

The study was geared towards ascertaining the levels of synthetic pyrethroids and organochlorine pesticides residues in dairy products(milk, cheese and yoghurt) from selected farms in Greater Accra Region of Ghana. In all fifty (50) samples of dairy products (25 fresh cow milk, 9 cheese and 16 yoghurt) were analyzed. Detectable levels of organochlorine pesticides,OCPs(β-HCH, endrin, endosulfan, p’p’-DDT, heptachlor and methoxychlor) and Synthetic pyrethroids(permethrin, allethrin, cypermethrin, deltamethrin and cyfluthrin). Ultrasonic extraction was employed and extract clean-up was done using silica gel and analyzed using a gas chromatograph (Agilent Model 6890 Gas Chromatograph) equipped with Ni-63 electron capture detector (ECD). . Milk samples were found to be the most contaminated with respect to the OCPs and the levels ranged between 0.0001μg/ml and 0.0407μg/ml. β-HCH was the highest OCP with concentration of 0.0407μg/ml while Cyfluthrin was the highest synthetic pyrethroids recorded in yoghurt sample (0.0318μg/ml).The levels of organochlorine pesticide residues detected in all the tissues were below the accepted Maximum Residue Limits (MRL), as adopted by the WHO/FAO Codex Alimentarius Commission (2005). Keywords: dairy products, organochlorine pesticides, synthetic pyrethroid, health risk, Ghana, gas chromatograph

An evaluation of farmer field school induced changes in Ghanaian cocoa production

A case study of Ghanaian cocoa farmer field schools was conducted to provide feedback on a regional effort to close the yield gap across the cocoa belt of West Africa. Production practices were significantly modified in the year following training with notable increases registered in both the number of producers planting hand pollinated hybrid cocoa seedlings and in the area planted to hybrids. The effectiveness of pesticide application on farms of trained participants was significantly higher following training. Nearly 30 percent of the trained farmers were women, who appeared to derive a lower benefit from training as compared to men, although the result was on the borderline of statistical significance. In sum, farmer field school training and subsequent changes in management practices are estimated to have resulted in a net production increase of 14% for the average farmer field school participant. To improve the impact for women more attention should be given to their specific needs. Expansion of the curriculum to cover nursery management and planting/replanting options should also be considered