TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2022//
TI  - Pesticide safety awareness among rural farmers in Dadinkowa, Gombe State, Nigeria
JO  - International journal of environmental research and public health
A1  - Moda, Haruna Musa
A1  - Anang, Daniel Mensah
A1  - Moses, Newton
A1  - Manjo, Felix Mandoli
A1  - Joshua, Victoria Ibukun
A1  - Christopher, Nwadike
A1  - Doka, Paulina
A1  - Danjin, Mela
SP  - e13728
EP  - e13728
VL  - 19
IS  - 21
N2  - INTRODUCTION: Because of the longer growing season and warmer climate, weeds and insect pests spread are on the rise, thereby increasing the demand for pesticide use and consequently harmful emissions that further exacerbate climate change. Unsafe occupational exposure to pesticide residue is associated with a lack of product knowledge and safety awareness among farmers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). <br><br>MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study design was adopted for this study in which a face-to-face administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 285 respondents who were selected using convenient snowball sampling technique. Knowledge, awareness, and practices related to pesticide storage, handling, application, and containers disposal among the farmers were measured. Categorical variables were analysed and presented using descriptive statistics in the form of frequency count and percentage, while numeric items were summarized using mean and standard deviation. <br><br>RESULTS: Dichlorvos and Perfekthion 2.5 EC listed in the WHO Group I pesticide classification were among the most frequently used pesticides. Symptoms of pesticide intoxication reported include headaches (56.1%), dizziness (56.5%), skin irritation (53.3%), and fatigue (45.6%), respectively. Farmers’ behaviour during pesticide application include blowing clogged nozzle with mouth (42.7%), talking while spraying (59.8%), and mixing pesticide with bare hands (31.1%). Furthermore, 38.5% of them use pesticide containers for other domestic purposes. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Socioeconomic factors, i.e., educational level, age, and years of farm practice, influenced farmers safety behaviour. Based on these findings, an approach that will help strengthen capacity building programmes and the enhancement of knowledge-based initiatives around the adoption of non-synthetic pest-control methods should be encouraged.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1661-7827
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192113728
ID  - ref1
ER  -