Dr. Ebenezer Agyemang
The Founder of HEPA Plus, Dr. Ebenezer Agyemang, has warned against the cultivation of edible crops on reclaimed illegal mining lands, cautioning that such soils remain unsafe due to long-lasting heavy metal contamination.
Dr. Agyemang explained that even after reclamation and soil treatment, harmful elements such as lead, cadmium, arsenic compounds and mercury may still be present, posing severe health risks to the public.
“With all due respect, if we want to plant anything on reclaimed lands, it should not be edible crops,” he said. “The soil may appear fertile, but it is often contaminated with heavy metals that can migrate into our food chain.”
Citing research conducted by Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) at a legal mining site in Damang in the Western Region, Dr. Agyemang noted that traces of toxic metals were found in plants grown on treated reclaimed land even after 15 years of recovery efforts.
He said the situation is even more worrying for illegal mining sites, where lands are often reclaimed hurriedly and treated for only two or three years before being used for crop production.
“If food crops like maize, coconut or oil palm are planted on such land, the consequences could be dangerous. For the sake of our health and the future of Ghanaians, I strongly urge authorities to promote non-edible cash crops such as rubber,” he stressed.
According to him, consuming crops grown from contaminated soil could lead to chronic kidney, liver, and heart diseases, as well as cancers.
HEPA Plus is a flagship herbal product from Ebenage Herbal Production and Consult, producers of Plasmox and Pavi, founded and led by Dr. Agyemang. The company is widely recognised for producing high-quality herbal remedies and offering expert consultancy in herbal formulation, research, and development.
Ebenage Herbal Production and Consult continues to win both local and international recognition for blending traditional herbal knowledge with modern scientific standards to deliver safe, effective, and innovative natural health products.
FROM David Afum, Kumasi
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