**2.2 Conventional approach to vegetable production**

Most vegetable production in Ghana is carried out by smallholder farmers who use basic farm implements on their farms. Production takes place predominantly on raised beds, ridges, or bare ground in open fields. Nursery establishment for those vegetables that do not need to be planted at stake is mostly on nursery beds created close to the site of cultivation. The vegetables are often cultivated on a piece of land owned or rented by these farmers as is mostly the case. Manual labor is used for most farm activities by the farmer with the help of family members or hired farm hands. For example, weeding is by use of hoe, cutlass, and/or spraying of chemicals using knapsack sprayers. However, in recent times some farmers who have larger farms are incorporating some level of mechanization such as the use of tractor-drawn tools (plough and harrow) for land preparation. Nevertheless, most of the other practices such as seeding, weeding, and harvesting are still carried out manually.

Furthermore, cultivation is often under the rainfed system which only allows for production within two seasons or even one season of the year depending on the agroecology within which the farm is located in the country. Supplementary irrigation may be provided at the nursery and early field establishment stage using either watering cans, buckets, knapsack sprayers, and sometimes small motorized pumps or various combinations of these methods. Over-reliance on rainfall for vegetable production and the erratic nature of rainfall patterns in recent years, a consequence of climate change, often results in severe economic losses due to poor yields in the event of drought or long dry spells. In addition, depending on the crop and the timing of the rains, too much rain can also cause yield losses due to the high incidence of diseases and other physiological disorders such as fruit cracking. And there is also the glut associated with seasonal cultivation, which often results in a poor price for the produce based on the economic principle of demand and supply. Most farmers incur huge losses during these periods due to the low prices or rotting of the produce as a result of buyers being overwhelmed with produce. These problems have been exacerbated due to poor knowledge of appropriate postharvest handling techniques and low to minimal processing practiced by farmers.

#### **2.3 Urban and peri-urban vegetable farming**

Urban and peri-urban vegetable farming generally refers to vegetable production in open spaces or fields mostly within and along the outskirts of major urban areas. Urban vegetable cultivation is considered to have originated with the arrival of the Europeans who created gardens around castles and forts in the country from the sixteenth century [1]. In addition, due to urbanization, there have been a rise in commercial urban and peri-urban farming to meet the needs of the ever-increasing population within the urban centers. Nevertheless, the actual number of farming sites keeps fluctuating due to the loss of some farming sites as a result of development projects and the establishment of new or previously unidentified areas [2]. Most of the farmers in these urban and peri-urban sites cultivate different crops and vegetables all year round. This is due to the ability to find ways of providing supplementary irrigation in the absence of rain with the aid of watering cans, buckets, small motorized pumps, and occasionally furrow and sprinkler systems [3]. This ensures an almost regular supply of vegetables to consumers all year long. Nevertheless, with most being small-scale farmers, production is not sufficient to prevent the shortage of particular vegetables during certain times of the year. Most of the vegetables grown by farmers involved in peri-urban and urban farming in the southern part of the country are exotic vegetables such as cabbage, lettuce, carrot, spring onions, and bell pepper. Other exotic vegetables such as cauliflower, radish, and traditional vegetables including okra, tomato, hot pepper, garden eggs, local spinach, and Jew's mallow (*ayoyo*) are also cultivated, although, these may be to a lesser extent in certain areas. In cities in the northern part of the country such as Tamale, local leafy vegetables, okra, tomatoes, and pepper are the pre-dominant vegetables (**Figure 1**) [4].

#### **2.4 Source of water for irrigation and health implications**

The proximity of urban and peri-urban farms to a near-permanent source of water allows for intensive cultivation. However, the quality of the source of water for most of these farms has been a major cause of concern for many, especially in recent times. With the exception of some major sites that are close to un-polluted riverine bodies or formal irrigation sites and those that have dug out wells or tap water for irrigation, most farmers, particularly those in the urban centers, use water from river bodies or streams that are polluted with untreated municipal wastewater. *Harnessing Technologies for Vegetable Cultivation: A Panacea for Food and Nutrition Insecurity… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.101877*

**Figure 1.** *A typical urban vegetable farm A typical urban vegetable farm Source [2].*

Some even go to the extent of using water directly from drains for irrigation. These pose a health risk to both farmers and consumers since produce are often contaminated with fecal coliforms, helminths eggs, and heavy metals at levels higher than globally accepted [5].
