Production and handling practices of vegetables in the supply chain
| dc.contributor.author | Osei, Ivy Fosua | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2017-01-20T09:07:20Z | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-04-18T22:16:19Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2017-01-20T09:07:20Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-04-18T22:16:19Z | |
| dc.date.issued | JULY, 2015 | |
| dc.description | A thesis submitted to the Department of Food Science and Technology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirements Master of Science degree in Food Quality Management, | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | Vegetables are consumed as part of a meal on a daily bases in almost every household in Ghana. Its consumption has increased as a result of education on the nutritional benefits of vegetables in recent times. Although the eating of vegetables is highly recommended, it is of a great worry how its consumption could pose a health risk to consumers. The study therefore was motivated by the desire to find ethical and unethical practices that exist in the supply chain of vegetables within the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolis. An exploratory research design was used for this study. Purposive sampling and structured interview guide consisting of open-ended and close-ended questions were used as instrument in data collection alongside observations. Tables and charts were used for the purpose of facilitating easy classification and understanding. The study findings revealed that, no relationship existed between the players in the vegetable supply chain, which consist of farmers, suppliers, retailers and consumers. Farmers produce their vegetables with no loyal customer in mind. The vegetables are harvested anytime of the day; this affected the life span of the vegetables making it deteriorate easily. Sources of water for irrigation ranged from streams, drains and well water. Majority of suppliers and retailers of vegetables make decisions on who to buy from based on the price the farmers are ready to sell and not on factors such as where the vegetables were cultivated, the source of water used for irrigation among others. Containers for conveying vegetables from farm to the various selling destinations contribute to causing quick and easy deterioration of these vegetables. They included jute sacks, baskets and polythene bags. It was interesting to find out that although consumers eat a lot of vegetables for health reasons, most of them did not know how the vegetables they eat was cultivated, where it was cultivated and what might have been applied during cultivation. It can be concluded that, there exists certain practices in the vegetable chain of supply mainly because of lack of knowledge which emerge from lack of training. All the three main players in the chain have not received any training and this is seen as very unethical. It is recommended that Ministry of Food and Agriculture should educate these vegetable farmers on basic good agricultural practices while the Food and Drugs Authority should monitor these farmers, retailers and suppliers to ensure that good ethical practices are followed. | en_US |
| dc.description.sponsorship | KNUST | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://ir.knust.edu.gh/handle/123456789/10044 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.title | Production and handling practices of vegetables in the supply chain | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
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