Occupational Safety Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice among Farmers in Northern Nigeria during Pesticide Application—A Case Study

Christopher Nwadike,Haruna Musa Moda,Victoria Ibukun Joshua,Paulina J S Doka,Sajoh Gwary-Moda,Mela Danjin,Rahaf Ajaj,Ummu Abubakar Hashidu

doi:10.3390/su131810107

Abstract

Pesticides are known human and environmental toxicants, with an estimated 3 million cases of pesticide poisoning happening every year globally, resulting in more than 250,000 deaths. According to the existing literature, different pesticides groups are readily used among farmers in Nigeria. With recent developments around commercial farming, crop damage from pests, etc., this has led to higher consumption of pesticides among the farming community. The lack of product knowledge and safety awareness among this group further exposes them to the effects of pesticides. The study aims to measure Northern Nigerian farmers’ safety knowledge, awareness, and practices related to pesticide application. A cross-sectional study using an online survey questionnaire was adopted to generate responses from 524 farmers across the north-central and northeastern region of the country. Farmers’ attitudes towards pesticide use were driven by high crop yield, as 35.4% strongly agree that pesticide use is indispensable for high crop yield. The frequent use of empty pesticide containers for other secondary uses on the farm or at home, as confirmed by 30.6% of the participants, also presents safety and health concerns. Farmers’ age (p > 0.038) influenced pesticide containers use for other secondary purposes. In contrast, education attainment (p < 0.001) significantly influenced the use of pesticide containers for other farm or domestic uses. Farmers’ safety behaviours are influenced by socioeconomic factors, including educational level, age, and years of farm practice experience. The study concludes on the need to develop an approach that will help strengthen capacity-building programmes and enhance knowledge base initiatives around the adoption of non-synthetic pesticides.

Highlights

The frequent use of pesticides in agricultural practices and the impact of climate change that has further increased farm pest and disease resistance has presented several routes of human exposure
Highly hazardous pesticides banned in High-Income Countries (HICs) are readily available and in frequent use in agricultural practices in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), to which factors such as the insufficient registration of products, farmers’ perceptions, and limited knowledge around alternatives contribute the ongoing use of these harmful products [1,3,7]
Considering the health and environmental effects associated with chemical pesticides, there is additional room for introducing a new concept in farming activities

Summary

Introduction

The frequent use of pesticides in agricultural practices and the impact of climate change that has further increased farm pest and disease resistance has presented several routes of human exposure. Existing data from LMICs further indicate acute pesticide poisoning as a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among farmworkers, where long-term exposure to organophosphates and carbamates are associated with a wide range of chronic health effects, including respiratory effects, neurobehavioral function, miscarriages, infant deaths, allergies, and carcinogenic and endocrine-disrupting properties, especially among vulnerable groups [6,8,9,10] In addition to their use in agricultural practices, pesticide exposure accounts for 14–20% of suicides globally, and most of these incidences are reported among LMICs populations who ingest these compounds when faced with personal life crises [1,11,12,13]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion