Quality of food should not be compromised, but how sure are you that the vegetables and fruits you buy from the local market are wholesome? Shakespeare Djokoto an agronomist with over two decades of experience reveals the agronomic practices by most farmers which are rendering food items unwholesome. There is no replacement for food, and with the advocacy from all quarters to eat healthy, you cannot over look quality when choosing what to eat.
An estimate by the WHO on pesticide poisoning shows that “there may be 1 million serious unintentional poisonings each year” It is also estimated that 25 million agricultural workers in the developing world suffer “an episode of poisoning each year.” The WHO says governments have not in many cases committed fully to monitoring levels of pesticides.
“What most of the farmers are doing is to apply more nitrogen to get the sizes and deliver to the market. Nitrogen brings in a lot of water and when it happens that way it will crumble in a matter of days. What they should apply are the cell wall building chemical like Calcium Nitro-potassium and the rest which they don’t apply because they are more expensive.”
Most vegetables he says should be able to stay on the kitchen shelf for a week or two without going bad.
Djokoto during his many years working at the Ministry of Agriculture worked with over 1,500 vegetable farmers across the country. During this period he observed that the farmers do what they like and get away with it.
“Chemical are not being properly applied, one of the dangers we are also having is that they are not applying what we call the pre-harvest interval.”
Most vegetables he says should be able to stay on the kitchen shelf for a week or two without going bad.
Djokoto during his many years working at the Ministry of Agriculture worked with over 1,500 vegetable farmers across the country. During this period he observed that the farmers do what they like and get away with it.
“Chemical are not being properly applied, one of the dangers we are also having is that they are not applying what we call the pre-harvest interval.”
Most vegetables he says should be able to stay on the kitchen shelf for a week or two without going bad.
Djokoto during his many years working at the Ministry of Agriculture worked with over 1,500 vegetable farmers across the country. During this period he observed that the farmers do what they like and get away with it.
“Chemical are not being properly applied, one of the dangers we are also having is that they are not applying what we call the pre-harvest interval.”
There are a lot of pesticides with inferior quality on the market and farmers who buy such cheap products are forced to apply it over and over again for the results they want. Djokoto wonders if the Environmental Protection Agency EPA is doing enough to track these influxes of pesticides on the market.
To sanitize the system and to ensure the safety of consumers of vegetables and fruits Djokoto recommends the Ministry of Agriculture “map out areas where we can deliver some foods from good places so that people can identify and go and buy to save them.”
Source: pulse.com.gh
