With the growing demand for market garden products in the towns of sub-Saharan Africa, urban farmers are tending to intensify production, which has increased the environmental and health risks. This was confirmed by a study of tomato production in urban areas of Benin, by researchers from CIRAD and their partners in the country.
The study was the first quantified assessment of the performance of this type of production system and the associated environmental risks. The researchers gathered information on the inputs used in farming systems ― fertilizers, pesticides, water, energy ― and their outputs ― yields and all the various flows into the environment. The results showed that yields were very low, and also highly variable. Pesticide use was also seen to be highly variable, and above all excessive, as were nutrient applications, whether nitrogen or phosphorus. Over and above these results, the study served to validate a method for collecting reliable, representative inventory data, which could be used as the basis for comprehensive environmental assessments of market gardening systems in Africa.
via CIRAD - Actualités / News http://ift.tt/17lI5f4
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