@article{Mireri:334002,
      recid = {334002},
      author = {Mireri, Caleb},
      title = {Environmental and public health risks of urban agriculture  in Kisumu city, Kenya},
      journal = {African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and  Development},
      address = {2022},
      year = {2022},
      abstract = {Kenya's blueprint on national development (Vision 2030) is  based on the principles of sustainable development and it  has prioritized agriculture to drive economic development.  The current Kenya’s Constitution (2010) provides for the  right to a clean and healthy environment as well as to food  of good quality. The aim of this study was to determine the  environmental and public health risks of crops grown in the  privately- owned land within Kisumu City, Kenya. This study  was premised on the assumption that farm produce from  privately – owned land is relatively safe as they are less  predisposed to municipal wastes, waste water and exhaust  fumes. Therefore, the study was carried out in  privately-owned land away from road reserves and storm  water from rivers, roads and built up urban areas. This  study assessed concentrations of Lead, Zinc, Copper,  Cadmium, Iron, and Chromium in 5 leafy vegetables; 2 root  crops; and 1 fruit crop. The study involved a sample of 24  edible tissues of crops (5 leafy vegetables - vigna  sinensis, chlorophytum comosum, crotolariabrevidens,  amaranthus and kales; 2 root crops (dioscorea and Manihot  esculenta), and 1 fruit crop (Carica papaya) and 24 soil  samples. The results of this study show that there are low  traces of heavy metals in the crops and those found in the  soils, vegetables and fruits are within the WHO/FAO  permissible standards. The highest concentrations of Pb,  Zn, Cu, and Fe were found in carica papaya (0.303ppm)  crotolariabrevidens (8.167ppm), crotolariabrevidens  (13.6ppm), and amarantus (6.637ppm) respectively. The  concentrations of Pb, Zn, CU, Fe, and Cr in the soils were,  respectively, 0.313ppm, 0.359ppm, 0.054ppm, 123.093ppm and  0.049ppm, while the WHO/FAO standards for Pb, Zn, Cu, Fe,  and Cr in soil are 100ppm, 300ppm, 100ppm, 50,000ppm, and  100ppm respectively. WHO/FAO limits for Pb, Cd, Cr, Zn, and  Cu in vegetables and fruits are 0.5, 0.2, 1.2, 1.5, and 2.0  respectively. No traces of cadmium and chromium were found  in the sampled crops. So, farm produce from such parcels of  land are safe for human consumption. The results of the  study indicate that it is possible to undertake safe urban  farming on privately – owned land in the City for the  benefit of the residents. So, necessary measures should be  taken by the City authority to promote urban farming,  including land use zoning and control of waste disposal  into the farms. Other measures include regular monitoring  of urban farming for quality and safety concerns.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/334002},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.18697/ajfand.106.20075},
}