Decreasing pesticide use for sustainable fruit processing in Ghana

Snapshot Solution
From Left to Right; Daniel Akoto, The DI project coordinator for SRJS with Joseph Ahiajegbey, Farm Manager of Kingdom Fruits.
the Development Institute

Kingdom Fruits, a Ghanaian fruit processing company, had been using an unhealthy amount of pesticide on its fields for weed control. The Development Institute, a Ghanaian NGO, engaged with them to reduce their pesticide use. The NGO also interacted with its labourers on several occasions to inform them of the dangerous effects of pesticide application, especially when users are not properly clothed. Now they only use pesticides when mango trees are young and no longer use them on the fruits. The Development Institute advised the company on alternatives, such as using live mulching instead, which they have now adopted. In addition, the NGO has set up a WhatsApp group in which businesses in their target landscape can exchange technical knowledge specifically on best agronomic practices, organic pesticide, as well as information on the costs of planting material and other products.

Dernière modification 16 Sep 2020
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Contexte
Challenges addressed
Pollution (incl. eutrophication and litter)
Lack of technical capacity
Scale of implementation
Local
Ecosystems
Orchard
Thème
Biodiversity mainstreaming
Sustainable livelihoods
Outreach & communications
Agriculture
Emplacement
Ghana
West and Central Africa
Impacts

With this successful engagement, the fruit processing company was able to transform their practices to make them more sustainable; engaging the workers ensured ownership, substantial and concrete change. The WhatsApp group also allows information to flow between the different business and for them to share and learn best practices. Companies see also that other businesses in the landscape are changing, which motivates them to do so to stay competitive. In addition, the positive impact on nature is enhanced as many companies change their practices.

Sustainable Development Goals
SDG 8 – Decent work and economic growth
SDG 12 – Responsible consumption and production
SDG 17 – Partnerships for the goals
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