The professor decried the habit is common in the Ashanti Region.
A professor at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology has revealed DDT is still being used for cultivation in the Ashanti Region according to study.
Professor Nathaniel Owusu Boadi has spoken out against the usage of Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) in the country’s food production.
According to him, because Ghana is a member to the Stockholm Convention, the use of the chemical has been prohibited since 1993. He therefore does not fathom why DDT is still being used for cultivation in Ghana.
However, two separate research projects he directed into the topic demonstrated that it is still utilized by farmers in Ghana, particularly in the Ashanti Region.
Prof. Nathaniel Owusu Boadi called the research’s findings “alarming.”
“I undertook two studies, one on organochlorine pesticides in fruits and the other on organochlorine pesticides in vegetables,” she says. These came from the Ashanti region of Ghana. In both cases, I was interested in these organochlorine pesticides since they have been banned in Ghana since 1993 and are not allowed to be used in any kind of agriculture because we are parties to the Stockholm Convention.”
“However, it’s fascinating that we found indications that these organochlorine pesticides were still in use in both investigations, especially with DDT, which was extremely widespread in our studies, and that causes a lot of concern for us because they are banned, so why are they still being used?”
DDT is still being used for cultivation – KNUST Professor
