Cargando…

Small-scale Farmer Pesticide Knowledge and Practice and Impacts on the Environment and Human Health in Ethiopia

BACKGROUND. Inappropriate use and application of pesticides in Ethiopia pose a major threat to the health of farmers and the environment. OBJECTIVE. The present study aimed to assess the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices of small-scale vegetable farmers towards the use of pesticides in Et...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Mergia, Mekuria Teshome, Weldemariam, Ermias Deribe, Eklo, Ole Martin, Yimer, Girma Tilahun
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Black Smith Institute 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8276729/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34267994
http://dx.doi.org/10.5696/2156-9614-11.30.210607
_version_ 1783721958473465856
author Mergia, Mekuria Teshome
Weldemariam, Ermias Deribe
Eklo, Ole Martin
Yimer, Girma Tilahun
author_facet Mergia, Mekuria Teshome
Weldemariam, Ermias Deribe
Eklo, Ole Martin
Yimer, Girma Tilahun
author_sort Mergia, Mekuria Teshome
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND. Inappropriate use and application of pesticides in Ethiopia pose a major threat to the health of farmers and the environment. OBJECTIVE. The present study aimed to assess the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices of small-scale vegetable farmers towards the use of pesticides in Ethiopia along the Lake Ziway watershed. METHODS. This was a cross-sectional study involving a total of 210 farmers randomly selected during a period of pesticide application from a purposively selected village located in the immediate vicinity of Lake Ziway, Ethiopia. Data were generated through structured in-depth interviews and on-site observations on farms. A Chi-square test was applied to evaluate whether the collected data and their probable associations were significant. RESULTS. World Health Organization (WHO) class II pesticides (moderately toxic) were the most frequently used pesticides in the study area. There was no reported use of WHO classes 1a and 1b and banned or restricted pesticides such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and endosulfan. Most (92%) farmers reported indiscriminately disposing of empty containers in the field, while 86.7% applied the leftover pesticides to other crops. More than 90% of small-scale farmers did not use any personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling pesticides. About 95% of farmers had poor knowledge regarding pesticides. A significant association (p < 0.001) was observed between the knowledge of farmers and their practices related to pesticides. CONCLUSIONS. Generally, the knowledge of small-scale farmers on pesticides was poor. Moreover, the inappropriate disposal of pesticides and pesticide containers poses a risk to the environment. The findings of the present study underline the need to train farmers concerning the safe and proper use of pesticides to mitigate hazards to human health and the environment. PARTICIPANT CONSENT. Obtained ETHICS APPROVAL. The study was granted an exemption from requiring ethics approval from the Hawassa University College of Natural and Computational Science, Research and Review Committee. COMPETING INTERESTS. The authors declare no competing financial interests.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-8276729
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2021
publisher Black Smith Institute
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-82767292021-07-14 Small-scale Farmer Pesticide Knowledge and Practice and Impacts on the Environment and Human Health in Ethiopia Mergia, Mekuria Teshome Weldemariam, Ermias Deribe Eklo, Ole Martin Yimer, Girma Tilahun J Health Pollut Research BACKGROUND. Inappropriate use and application of pesticides in Ethiopia pose a major threat to the health of farmers and the environment. OBJECTIVE. The present study aimed to assess the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices of small-scale vegetable farmers towards the use of pesticides in Ethiopia along the Lake Ziway watershed. METHODS. This was a cross-sectional study involving a total of 210 farmers randomly selected during a period of pesticide application from a purposively selected village located in the immediate vicinity of Lake Ziway, Ethiopia. Data were generated through structured in-depth interviews and on-site observations on farms. A Chi-square test was applied to evaluate whether the collected data and their probable associations were significant. RESULTS. World Health Organization (WHO) class II pesticides (moderately toxic) were the most frequently used pesticides in the study area. There was no reported use of WHO classes 1a and 1b and banned or restricted pesticides such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and endosulfan. Most (92%) farmers reported indiscriminately disposing of empty containers in the field, while 86.7% applied the leftover pesticides to other crops. More than 90% of small-scale farmers did not use any personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling pesticides. About 95% of farmers had poor knowledge regarding pesticides. A significant association (p < 0.001) was observed between the knowledge of farmers and their practices related to pesticides. CONCLUSIONS. Generally, the knowledge of small-scale farmers on pesticides was poor. Moreover, the inappropriate disposal of pesticides and pesticide containers poses a risk to the environment. The findings of the present study underline the need to train farmers concerning the safe and proper use of pesticides to mitigate hazards to human health and the environment. PARTICIPANT CONSENT. Obtained ETHICS APPROVAL. The study was granted an exemption from requiring ethics approval from the Hawassa University College of Natural and Computational Science, Research and Review Committee. COMPETING INTERESTS. The authors declare no competing financial interests. Black Smith Institute 2021-05-28 /pmc/articles/PMC8276729/ /pubmed/34267994 http://dx.doi.org/10.5696/2156-9614-11.30.210607 Text en © Pure Earth 2021 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) ).
spellingShingle Research
Mergia, Mekuria Teshome
Weldemariam, Ermias Deribe
Eklo, Ole Martin
Yimer, Girma Tilahun
Small-scale Farmer Pesticide Knowledge and Practice and Impacts on the Environment and Human Health in Ethiopia
title Small-scale Farmer Pesticide Knowledge and Practice and Impacts on the Environment and Human Health in Ethiopia
title_full Small-scale Farmer Pesticide Knowledge and Practice and Impacts on the Environment and Human Health in Ethiopia
title_fullStr Small-scale Farmer Pesticide Knowledge and Practice and Impacts on the Environment and Human Health in Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Small-scale Farmer Pesticide Knowledge and Practice and Impacts on the Environment and Human Health in Ethiopia
title_short Small-scale Farmer Pesticide Knowledge and Practice and Impacts on the Environment and Human Health in Ethiopia
title_sort small-scale farmer pesticide knowledge and practice and impacts on the environment and human health in ethiopia
topic Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8276729/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34267994
http://dx.doi.org/10.5696/2156-9614-11.30.210607
work_keys_str_mv AT mergiamekuriateshome smallscalefarmerpesticideknowledgeandpracticeandimpactsontheenvironmentandhumanhealthinethiopia
AT weldemariamermiasderibe smallscalefarmerpesticideknowledgeandpracticeandimpactsontheenvironmentandhumanhealthinethiopia
AT ekloolemartin smallscalefarmerpesticideknowledgeandpracticeandimpactsontheenvironmentandhumanhealthinethiopia
AT yimergirmatilahun smallscalefarmerpesticideknowledgeandpracticeandimpactsontheenvironmentandhumanhealthinethiopia