Farmers’ perception on herbicide usage and impact on health: an overview of status quo in parts of Benue South, Nigeria

Abstract

Herbicide usage has increased significantly. Its irrational use has adverse side effects. These side effects threaten the environment and human health. This study aimed to evaluate farmers’ knowledge and perception on the health effects of herbicide usage in some parts of Benue South. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through questionnaires from farmers. A total of 252 farmers were interviewed from three selected local government areas in the state. Amongst farmers interviewed, 56% were males, 44% were females and all between 20-50 years. Some farmers had secondary education and few tertiary education, while the majority had primary or non-formal education. Most respondents reported non-use of personal protective equipment during applications. Commonly used herbicides were Paraforce, Sarosate, Force-off, Fitscosate, Actraforce, Dsitop, and Weed off. Paraforce and force off were the most commonly used. Some farmers (68.7%) reported that they read and adhered to application instructions on the herbicide pack, while (77.4%) as suggested by their co-farmers. Only 38.5% reported to have got their information from workshops. A fraction of the respondents reported different symptoms of ill-health after herbicide application. Farmers had a high level of ignorance of the impact of inappropriate herbicide usage and biosafety especially on the use of protective clothing. Inappropriate herbicide application has great side effects on health. We recommend farmers’ training programs on safe and appropriate herbicide usage measures and urge strict regulation and control of herbicide availability in the country.