Assessment of pesticides residue levels in cocoa beans from the Sefwi Wiawso Dstrict of the Western Region of Ghana
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Date
2014-07-21
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Abstract
Cocoa is the most important agricultural export crop in Ghana, and the country has an
enviable reputation of producing high quality cocoa. The nymphs, adults of mirid species
and the stink bugs are important insect pests of cocoa. The main method of their control is
by the application of conventional insecticides. Consumer awareness on food safety and
environmental concerns raise major issues on chemical pest control in cocoa. The research
study aimed to determine the residue levels of pesticides and its effect on cocoa beans
quality in the Sefwi Wiawso District. A multi-stage sampling procedure which included
purposive and simple random sampling techniques was employed. The findings of the
research study included the following: Insect pests and diseases particularly capsids, mirids
and black pod disease were mentioned by the respondents as a major production constraint.
Majority (98.8 %) of the farmers used chemicals to control pests on their cocoa farms and
was knowledgeable about the dos and don’ts with pesticide usage. About 10.0 % of them
reported to have been combining different pesticides and higher doses of approved
pesticides for spraying with the aim to boost efficacy. The pesticide residue analysis
revealed that permethrin, a synthetic pyrethriod, which is unapproved to be used on cocoa,
had a concentration of 0.07 mg/kg which exceeded Japan MRL of 0.05 mg/kg in bulked
sample from all the selected communities in the district. No pesticides residue was
detected in the roasted cocoa samples. A chi square test value at 5 % showed that there was
a significant (p=.011) relationship between the farmers’ pesticide usage patterns and the
pesticide residue levels in cocoa bean samples from the Sefwi Wiawso cocoa district. The
need for increased efficiency of the CODAPEC programme, education and train ing, and
more governmental support in terms of incentives are recommended.
Description
A thesis submitted to the School of Research and Graduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of science and Technology, in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Masters of Philosophy (MPhil Postharvest Technology) degree.