Constraints Associated With Pesticide Safety Measures Adoption Among Users In Oil Palm Farms In Edo, Delta And Ondo States, Nigeria

Abstract

Safety of farmers is basic to the realization of food security and agricultural transformation in developing countries globally. Most farming activities predispose farmers, non-farmers and farming communities to health hazards because some users of these hazardous substances deliberately refuse to observe necessary precautionary measures. This study assessed constraints associated with pesticide safety measures adoption among users of pesticides in oil palm farms in Edo, Delta and Ondo States. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 268 respondents. Questionnaire was used to collect primary data analyzed for this study using frequency counts, percentages, and means while Kruskal-Wallis test was used to examine the relationships between the response and predictor variables of the study. Results showed that about 95% of the respondents adopted the 28 identified pesticide safety measures. Nine constraints to pesticide users’ adoption of pesticide safety measures were identified by respondents. Inconveniences of personal protective clothing on users (=2.28), some pesticide safety measures are dangerous to man ( =2.16), and lack of money to buy protective equipment ( =2.05) were found to be serious constraints to adoption of safety measures. There was a significant difference in constraints to adoption among pesticide users in oil palm farms in the surveyed States (H= 9.524, P<0.05). It is recommended that safety measures should be included in agricultural messages disseminated to farmers especially those that use pesticides. Key Words: Constraints, Pesticide, Safety Measures, Oil Palm, Adoption