Study on crop protection where the ‘Green Innovation Centres for the Agriculture and Food Sector’ (GIAE) initiative is being implemented Ghana Jayne Crozier, Birgitta Oppong-Mensah, Julien Dougoud and Melanie Bateman April 2018 KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE ii Table of contents Executive summary ........................................................................................................................ iv Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ vi Acronyms .......................................................................................................................................vii List of tables .................................................................................................................................. viii List of figures ................................................................................................................................ viii Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 2 Desk study ................................................................................................................................. 2 Limitations of the methodology and data .................................................................................... 2 Results/findings .............................................................................................................................. 4 Agriculture sector characteristics and key stakeholders .............................................................. 4 Organizational arrangements within the national government for pest and pesticide management .............................................................................................................................. 7 Analysis of existing legal framework for pest and pesticide management ................................. 10 Farm characteristics and production practices in focal crops .................................................... 17 Analysis of GAP/good crop management and other voluntary standards ................................. 20 State of science on crop protection........................................................................................... 22 Advisory service characteristics and the advice they provide .................................................... 26 Pesticide hazards, assessment of risks and documented harmful effects of pesticides ............ 28 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................. 33 Main findings and recommendations for action ......................................................................... 33 References ................................................................................................................................... 38 Annexes ........................................................................................................................................ 42 Annex I: Cross-national overview of the legal framework for pesticide use ............................... 42 Annex II: Pesticides banned in Ghana ...................................................................................... 53 Annex III: Results from the in-country farmer questionnaires .................................................... 54 Annex IV: Results from the in-country AEAs questionnaires ..................................................... 70 Annex V. List of HHP AI registered for use in Ghana ................................................................ 85 Annex VI: List of AI which are registered in Ghana which require exceptional authorization for recommendation or procurement .............................................................................................. 86 Annex VII: List of the key pests of maize with the HHP and non-HHP AI which are used for their management ............................................................................................................................ 88 Annex VIII. List of the key pests of rice with the HHP and non-HHP AIs which are used for their management ............................................................................................................................ 91 Annex IX. Overview of the requirements of major voluntary standards ..................................... 94 iii Executive summary Losses due to pests, diseases and weeds are estimated to be about 35% in major crops, and may exceed 50% in developing regions where pest management strategies are limited. Sustainable pest management methods include non-chemical control methods (biological, cultural, mechanical and physical) although presently, many farmers still rely on chemical pesticides to control pest outbreaks. The Green Innovation Centres initiative for the Agriculture and Food Sector initiative (GIAE), led by Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), aims to boost smallholder farmer productivity and improve the whole value chain to maximize farmers’ benefits. In order to align its Green Innovation Centres to the best practices in pest and pesticide management, GIZ has mandated CABI to lead this study. The aim of the study was to analyze the legal framework for pesticide management in Ghana and review pest management practices for the major pests of the focal crops of the Green Innovation Centre. A desk study was carried out to analyse legislation and policy relating to pest and pesticide management and a review of scientific literature relating to the integrated pest management methods for the focal crops, maize and rice. To compliment the gaps in the publically available information in-country data collection was carried out. This consisted of one on one questionnaires and focal group discussions with farmers and extension agents and interviews with key stakeholders in the focal crop supply chains. The results and recommendations from the study were validated during an in-country stakeholder workshop and their implementation discussed. The analysis of the legal framework for pest and pesticide management highlighted several important gaps. Areas not covered by the legislation that need to be addressed include the transportation of pesticides, requirements for sale, procedures and facilities for the disposal of empty containers and out-of-date products and protection of vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant women. Harmonization of the legislation relating to pesticide management needs to be prioritised especially where there is overlap in responsibilities between agencies and building capacity for inspection and enforcement of the laws relating to pesticide management. The stakeholders recognized there are gaps and a lack of legislative instruments to support the current legislation and steps are being taken to address these. Many farmers still rely on chemical pesticides to control pests and diseases and have a lack of knowledge of alternative non-chemical management options. They have a reasonable knowledge of pesticide management but this is rarely put into practice. Many farmers expressed concerns about the use of highly hazardous pesticides and availability of counterfeit and low quality products and showed interest in using lower hazard alternative if they could be made available. It was reported that there is also low adoption of new technologies amongst farmers and this may be related to provision of conflicting information as a result of multiple organisations and programmes operating in the same areas. Extension agents seem to have a reasonable knowledge of the pests and diseases affecting the focal crops but their knowledge of non-chemical management methods is limited and they rely on chemical pesticides for many of the recommendations they give farmers. Extension agents also demonstrated a reasonable level of knowledge on pesticide use and safety and many were aware of the current legislation in place. They did not however differentiate between highly hazardous pesticides and lower hazard alternatives. Several recommendations have been made in the report to improve management of pest and pesticide management. The following recommendations are highlighted as those most actionable for the GAIEs in the short to medium term: • Stocktaking of highly hazardous pesticides registered for use in Ghana and low hazard alternatives identified and publicised for use • Development of local training programmes for agro-input shop assistants to improve basic information on pests and diseases, their management and alternative control strategies iv • Development and provision of quality pest management extension materials for extension agent and linking extension to existing Apps through ICT • Improve extension agents and farmers awareness of the registered pesticide list and the products and their uses contained within it • Development of recommendations for the sustainable management of fall armyworm on maize with national partners v Acknowledgements CABI is grateful to the ‘Green Innovation Centres for the Agriculture and Food Sector’ (GIAE) Ghana team for providing information, advice and support throughout this study. We would particular like to thank Elvis Mensah-Bonsu and Michael von Stackelberg. We would also