Knowledge and practices of pesticide use among farm workers in the West Bank, Palestine: safety implications

Abstract

Objectives The objectives of this study were to assess the knowledge and practices associated with pesticide use in an agricultural community in Palestine, and to determine the prevalence of self-reported health symptoms related to pesticide exposure. Methods In this cross-sectional questionnaire study, agricultural farm workers in Nablus district, Palestine, were interviewed on their knowledge and practices of pesticide use. Comparisons of knowledge and practices of pesticide use between various groups were performed using the Mann-Whitney U-test or the Kruskal-Wallis rank test of variance. The program of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 15 was used for data analysis. Results The questionnaire was completed by 381 farm workers. The mean age ± SD of the participants was 38.8 ± 11.8 years. The majority (97.9%) of the participants were male. The mean participant scores for knowledge and safety procedures were 2.8 ± 3.2 out of 8 and 9.8 ± 2.4 out of 15, respectively. There was a significant positive correlation (r = 0.323; P \ 0.001) between the knowledge and safety procedure scores. Unsafe behaviors were identified as the storage of pesticide products at home, the preparation of pesticides in the kitchen, inadequate disposal of empty pesticide containers, eating and drinking during pesticide application, and using inadequate protective clothing. The most frequent self-reported toxicity symptoms associated with pesticide use were skin rash (37.5%), headache (37%), excessive sweating (24.9%), and diarrhea (21.3%). There was a strong significant negative correlation (r = -0.83; P \ 0.001) between self-reported toxicity symptoms and scores for protective measures. Conclusion The results of this study indicate that most farm workers in this district need more educational programs regarding the safety and use of pesticides. Legislation promoting the use of safer pesticides is also needed.

Farmers’ Criteria for Pesticide Selection and Use in the Pest Control Process

“…Hence, the issue is still in an exploratory and premature stage. To identify the criteria items that farmers consider in selecting and using a pesticide product in the pest control operation, an expert panel discussion and a relevant literature survey were carried out [9,19,22,[25][26][27]29,33]. The initial questionnaire items were first examined in three rounds by a panel organized by a plant protection professor, four local extension agents, and three researchers who majored in plant protection products, as well as five key informant farmers in pesticide use.…”

“…Conversely, effective pesticides that satisfy farmers are used in higher quantities [10]. Another criterion affecting the use of pesticides that has been considered in various studies is knowledge and information about the appropriate use of pesticides [13,19,20,[25][26][27]. As highlighted by Mengistie et al [19], smallholder farmers are mostly provided with too technical information on pesticides that are hazardous and involve a complex technology.…”

“…Therefore, sufficient technical information on the correct application of pesticides is required to be delivered to smallholder farmers by various experts through agricultural extension services. Zyoud et al [26] argued that farmers with good pesticide knowledge showed good practices in pesticide use and were more inclined to apply pesticides according to recommended guidelines for protective measures. Similarly, Chen et al [13] revealed that the significant negative effect of pesticide overspray practiced by farmers can be reduced by improving their knowledge of pest management.…”

Institutional Factors Influencing Crop Farmers Adoption of Recommended Agrochemical Practices in Nigeria

“…3 Furthermore, available literature (Zyoud et al, 2010) as well as field experiences from various practitioners indicate a demand-supply system that just emerged by chance, hence not perfect but characterized by adulteration, use of expired chemicals as well as inefficiency in usage, improper storage, bad (high) retailing prices, and lack of safety measures (FAO, 1998). Already, useful amount of work has been done by research institutes and extension agencies in providing information on researchbased recommended agrochemical practices (RAPs) (Laary, 2012;Zyoud et al, 2010;Asogwa and Dango, 2009;Kishi, 2005;.…”

“…Already, useful amount of work has been done by research institutes and extension agencies in providing information on researchbased recommended agrochemical practices (RAPs) (Laary, 2012;Zyoud et al, 2010;Asogwa and Dango, 2009;Kishi, 2005;. Despite these efforts, cases of environmental and health hazards resulting from misuse of agrochemicals abound.…”