Different pesticides are widely used to protect the crops. However, they are considered to be one of the major causes of environmental pollution. Therefore, in this project, efforts are made to characterize the potential risks of pesticides applied, to study their effects on the environment, and to understand the local professional practices. A survey was conducted among market gardeners and farmers, in two main districts of Biskra Ziban, Algeria. Using pesticide environmental risk indicator model, an Environmental Risk Score (ERS), the final indicator of environmental risk (final indicator of ER), and the normalized final environmental risk were calculated for 18 pesticides, which are most commonly used. Six active ingredients had an ERS that reached a value of 5 and more. The highest final indicator of ER was obtained for the formulation based on the active substance diazinon (score = 120.00). Besides, the perception and attitude of farmers regarding risk from pesticide exposure were also observed and discussed. Consequently, the risk indicators allowed us to compare and identify the least environmentally hazardous pesticide among all the possible alternatives.During cultivation, vegetables and fruits require the use of a broad range of pesticides. Pesticides, when released into the environment, can follow many pathways [6]. Pesticides have a tendency to be sorbed to soil particles [7]; pesticides with high vapor pressures may be easily lost to the atmosphere or move downward into aquifers, whereas soluble pesticides are more leachable to soil and groundwater. Nevertheless, it may be lost as surface water runoff because of irrigation practices or rainfall [7,8]. Pesticides may be degraded and transformed by the biological and chemical processes such as photolysis, hydrolysis, oxidation, and reduction [7,[9][10][11][12].Pesticides benefit the crops, but they negatively impact the environment, particularly, when they move outside of the application site [13,[14][15][16]. Biodiversity is mainly threatened by the intensive use of pesticides [17]. Besides, insecticides or herbicides can be toxic to the hosts of other organisms, birds, aquatic life, beneficial insects, and non-target plants [18,[19][20][21]. Furthermore, pesticides can contaminate soil, water, turf, and