August 15, 2016     Accra

The United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU- INRA), organized a training workshop for urban and peri-urban vegetable farmers in Accra, on how to treat wastewater for irrigation.  The aim was to equip the farmers to use the African species of vetiver grass, “Chrosopogon nigritana’’ to treat wastewater before using it for irrigation.

Cross-section of the participants

Dr. Effiom Oku, Research Fellow for Land and Water Resources at UNU-INRA, who facilitated the workshop, indicated that research has shown that the use of untreated wastewater for irrigation poses health hazards for farmers and consumers, hence the need to use the vetiver grass to remove contaminants from wastewater before using it to irrigate vegetables. He added that the vetiver technology can also be used to remove contaminants from wastewater discharges from industries. Dr. Oku therefore urged the farmers to apply the technology to produce healthy vegetables for consumption. He also called on Governments to put in place policies to encourage the application of such technologies.

The training workshop brought together about 40 participants including Farmers, Agric Extension Officers, and Field Supervisors, all from Ghana.