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51. Waste water irrigation opportunities and risks

Full Title:

The impact of waste water irrigation on human health and food safety among urban communities in the Volta Basin – opportunities and risks

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The expanding urban centers of Africa provide both a challenge and an opportunity for the communities sustaining livelihoods through farming. The pressure on land and water resources are among the key challenges but the high demand for food at the nearby markets provides an opportunity for income. Increasingly the urban farming households depend on polluted surface water as an input to the production. The regular flows and the nutrient values of this water make it attractive for the farmers but at the same time environmental and human health concerns have been emphasized by national authorities and international organizations. However, the relative risks involved and the possibilities for realistic mitigating measures have not been worked out and the authorities need further evidence to guide the sector. In particular for Ghana, reports published by the Wageningen University, Wallingford and IWMI have described both challenges and opportunities in the context of Ghana (Wallingford reports OD/TN97 and OD/TN103; Wageningen University, 2003 "Use of waste water in irrigated agriculture: country studies from Bolivia, Ghana and Tunisia. Volume 2 Ghana"; IWMI 2002; “Integrated economic and environmental impact assessment of urban and peri-urban agriculture in the case of Kumasi. Final Technical Report on the FAO funded project PR 17951 IWMI/IBSRAM/KNUST, Vol. 2, 52 pp”)
 
A number of guidelines, technical interventions, management strategies or legal frameworks have been proposed to regulate and safeguard workers and consumers of these waste water irrigated crops (WHO, 1998 “Surface decontamination of fruits and vegetables eater raw: a review. Food Safety Issues.  WHO/FSF/98.2”). These attempts of improving the sustainability and health of waste water use have to some extent been supported by technical feasibility studies, cost-effectiveness assessments and risk of contamination studies. However, few studies or development activities exist anywhere in the world that relate the proposed interventions with the local understanding of hygiene, perceptions of water or food related disease and the willingness to invest in particular strategies. Most of the currently proposed interventions aim for a change of behavior before the current behavior is understood. A further mismatch is that most guidelines cannot be applied in low-income countries where water treatment is hardly possible, and farmers’ options for change are limited in specialized urban agriculture (Drechsel et al, 2002 “Balancing health and livelihoods: Adjusting waste water irrigation guidelines for resource-poor countries. Urban Agriculture Magazine 8: 7-9”). This study compliments the detailed agricultural and community assessments already planned for the CP38 project with detailed medical anthropological studies among affected communities. Also, studies from Mexico have shown the importance of supporting the microbiological water and food analyses with epidemiological risk assessments to quantify the importance of waste water practices relative to other routes of contamination within the household or at community level (Cifuentes, 1991 “Health impact evaluation of waste water use in Mexico, Public Health Rev.19:243-50”). This type of evidence is clearly of importance to guide investment in the direction where they will make the greatest impact. This proposed study will provide detailed epidemiological analysis to assess the relative contribution of waste water to age and gender specific levels of disease. Finally, since the contamination taking place post-harvest, especially at the markets, has been highlighted in several studies and interventions have been proposed (by WHO/FAO and also CP 38 is working on suggestions for farmers, markets and consumers), it is time that this is field tested in a West African context (Worsfold D, 2004 “An assessment of food hygiene and safety at farmers' markets” Int J Environ Health Res. 14:109-19”; WHO, 1998 “Surface decontamination of fruits and vegetables eater raw: a review. Food Safety Issues.  WHO/FSF/98.2”).

This proposed project was developed jointly with the institutions involved in CP 38. It would advance the CP 38 project through four specific methodological additions: stringent epidemiological studies, in-depth qualitative approaches of medical anthropology, public health theory; and assessment of risk sources for
fecal pollution of foods at market places, including techniques for identification and viability testing of protozoan parasites. All activities of this project will support the goal set for the CP 38 project but will, at the same time, provide additional insight especially on the wider health aspects of the urban livelihoods.