Institutional barriers to food safety in the urban irrigated vegetable value chain in Accra, Ghana

David Galibourg , Rebecca E. Scott, Katherine V. Gough , Philip Amoah

The faecal contamination of irrigation water threatens public health. Although safe practices can mitigate hygiene and food safety risks along the urban irrigated vegetable value chain, their adoption remains limited. A behaviour framework was combined with a participatory approach to explore how institutions influence farmers’ capability, opportunity and motivation to adopt safe practices in Accra, Ghana. After extensive preparation, a dialogue engaged stakeholders and institutions in identifying the actors and interactions influencing stakeholder practices. We find that institutional dynamics hinder farmers’ opportunity and motivation to adopt safe practices. Knowledge gaps created by top-down approaches and sectoral silos were bridged by engaging participants in conducting the behavioural diagnosis. This shared understanding enables participants to co-design arrangements that make safe practices easier to adopt.