Abstract
The flower industry in East Africa has grown in recent years, especially in the production and export of roses. The aim of this study was to assess pesticide use on selected flower farms in Ethiopia. Serum cholinesterase levels in workers were used as a marker of pesticide exposure. This study was a cross-sectional study involving 588 workers from 15 different flower farms. It had a response rate of 95.5%. The participants included 277 males (mean age 26 years; 148 pesticide sprayers and 129 non-sprayers) and 311 females (mean age 25 years; 156 working in greenhouses and 155 working outside the greenhouses). The researchers undertook structured interviews, blood sampling, and walkthrough surveys. Descriptive statistics and Poisson regression were used in the statistical analyses. A total of 154 different trade names of pesticides were found. Of them, 31 (27%) were classified as moderately hazardous by the WHO, and 9% were organophosphates. Serum levels of cholinesterase deviating from 50–140 Michel units were considered abnormal. Abnormal serum cholinesterase levels (above 140 Michel units) were found in 97 participants (16.5%, 95% confidence interval 13.7–19.7%). There were no differences between the four job groups regarding cholinesterase levels. The high prevalence of abnormal serum cholinesterase levels might indicate the presence of pesticide intoxication. Thus, there is a need for routine monitoring of all workers exposed to pesticides, not only sprayers.
Highlights
Pesticide use in agricultural sectors in Ethiopia has increased in recent years due to the rapid growth of flower farms [1,2,3]
The mean numbers of months working at the current flower farm was 32, and there was no difference in the number of working months when comparing male and female workers or when comparing the two male and female study groups (Table 2)
We found the use of different classes of pesticides, including organophosphates, neonicotinoids and pyrethroids, which made up about 30% of the total number of pesticides found in this study
Summary
Pesticide use in agricultural sectors in Ethiopia has increased in recent years due to the rapid growth of flower farms [1,2,3]. The import of pesticides in 2002–2006 was 13,381 tons, and this increased to 30,059 tons from 2006–2011 [4] This increase was likely caused by the large and growing demand related to agricultural crop production and flower farms [5]. The Government of Ethiopia designed a pesticide risk-reduction programme that ran from 2010 to 2015 and mainly focused on the sustainable management of pesticides in order to protect the health of workers and people living in the surrounding communities. There are concerns that this increased pesticide use might enhance the risk of pesticide exposure among the workers and might cause serious adverse health effects in the farm worker community [5,7,8]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
