Human and Environmental Health Implications of Pesticide Utilization by Market Gardeners in the Western Highlands of Cameroon

Abstract

Aims: Assessment of human and environmental health implications of pesticide use by farmers in the western highlands of Cameroon, the case of Fotouni.
 Study design: Descriptive Cross-Sectional
 Place and Duration of Study: This work was done between November 2016 and March 2017 in Fotouni (West Region of Cameroon).
 Methodology: A structured questionnaires randomly administered to 76 markets gardeners owning a farm and willing to take part in the survey.
 Results: The survey revealed that secondary school was the highest level of education achieved by most of the respondents (68.4%). Farmers were aged between 19 and 63 years, the highest percentage (47.4%) being in the 31 to 40 years range. Five pesticide families were used in the study area with a predominance of insecticides. Thirty-one commercial names were recorded corresponding to 18 active ingredients. Chlorothalonil was the most used active ingredient. Beauchamp and Dimethoate were two illegally used compounds recorded. Most farmers (89%) mixed pesticide before application while others (31.6%) changed dosage per crop season. Furthermore, prescribed doses were not followed by 34.2% of respondents and 60.5% of farmers hadn’t receive any training on pesticide application. Market gardeners chose pesticides to apply mainly from information on labels (71%). Farm water was used by 92.1% of respondents for domestic purposes; 28.9% of respondents testified active pesticide poisoning while 47.4% failed to use protective equipment during application. Seven post-application symptoms were recorded, the main one being impaired vison and nausea. The farm house was the main pesticide storage site (56%). Empty sachets were poorly managed as respondents burned (42%) or buried (10%). The Restricted Entry Interval was a mystery for the majority of respondents (70%) who declared they re-entered the farms less than 24h after application.
 Conclusion: Farmers were highly exposed to pesticides due to ignorance and poor legislation.

Rapid evolution of insecticide resistance and patterns of pesticides usage in agriculture in the city of Yaoundé, Cameroon

“…Although most pesticides sold were on the list of pesticides approved for use in Cameroon [ 102 ], several formulations or versions of poor quality with the same brand were found in the market. The number of counterfeit agricultural products in Cameroon may be high because of poor check points along the boundaries with neighbouring countries [ 34 , 37 , 103 , 104 ]. Some farmers admitted to applying up to six rounds of pesticides during the crop-growing stages.…”

Use of pesticides and risk perception of environmental contamination by farmers surrounding the Menoua River (West Cameroon)

“…Of these, 90% did not use protective measures during pesticide application, a phenomenon that has also been reported by other authors (Lopez et al, 2020; Pouokam et al, 2017). Some authors have attributed the lack of protective equipment use to poverty (Damalas & Abdollahzadeh, 2016; Kenko & Kamta, 2021; Seyyed et al, 2012). Failure to use adequate personal protection when spraying pesticides exposes farmers to chemicals that can affect their health (Barrón Cuenca et al, 2019; Mohanty et al, 2013; Sankoh, 2016; Sarkar et al, 2021; Sonchieu et al, 2019).…”

“…Thus, several resources from the water, including fish, could be contaminated, putting humans eating these fish at risk (Kenko et al, 2017). Because of poor knowledge and lack of training for farmers in the use of pesticides, there is evidence of pesticide‐related health effects for humans and natural organisms in Cameroon (Abang et al, 2013; Kenko & Kamta, 2021; Ngameni et al, 2017; Pouokam et al, 2017; Tarla et al, 2015). Although these studies reinforce the knowledge of ecotoxicology in Cameroon, there is still a need to understand the perception of risk by farmers to improve risk communication strategies for better pesticide management in Cameroon.…”

Assessment of ecotoxicological effects of agrochemicals on bees using the PRIMET model, in the Tiko plain (South-West Cameroon)

“…Unfortunately, a high percentage of pesticides applied affect non-target organisms with many acute lethal and chronic sublethal effects. Pesticide users often fail to follow safety measures and recommended doses, and suffer from post-application health disorders such as headache, impaired vision, irritation ( Kenko &Kamta 2021 ; Kenko et al., 2017b ; Tchamadeu et al., 2017 ). Pesticides have negative effects on male reproductive capacities (low sex hormone and sperm counts) as well as liver and kidney functions ( Manfo et al.…”

“…There are many studies on pesticide ecotoxicology in Cameroon. These include surveys on pesticide use patterns ( Abang et al., 2013 ; Abdulai et al., 2018 ; Amuoh 2011 ; Dieudonné et al., 2015 ; Kenko &Kamta 2021 ; Kenko et al., 2017b ; Matthews et al., 2003 ; Parrot et al., 2008 ; Tarla et al., 2013 ; Tchamadeu et al., 2017 ; Tetang and Foka 2008 ), laboratory bioassays ( Kenko et al., 2017c ; Manfo et al. 2012 , 2020 ; Watching et al., 2020 ) and modelling ( Fai et al., 2019 ; Kenko et al., 2017a ).…”