Abstract
Background: Pesticide toxicity is an important health problem in Thailand due to the intensive use of hazardous pesticides. This study aimed to determine and discuss patterns of pesticide use, health literacy, pesticide use behaviors and whether there is an association between health literacy and pesticide use behaviors among sweet corn farmers in the Pak Chong district of Thailand. Methods: This work was carried out between May 2017 and July 2017 and 161 participants were enrolled. Participant questionnaires were completed during face-to-face interviews. Results: 161 sweet corn farmers (89.98%) were interviewed about patterns of chemical pesticide use. Two of the pesticides used in the pre-planting phase were moderately toxic: paraquat (used by 55.2% of farmers) and imidacloprid (used by 15.5% of farmers). In the pre-emergence phase, participants reported using two moderately toxic pesticides: alachlor (used by 48.8% of farmers) and chlorpyrifos (used by 2.4% of farmers). At the post-emergence phase, participants reported using six moderately toxic pesticides: chlorpyrifos (used by 60.7% of farmers), paraquat (used by 38.1% of farmers), imidacloprid (used by 7.2% of farmers), 2-4D (used by 3.6% of farmers), abamectin (used by 3.6% of farmers) and cypermethrin (used by 1.2% of farmers). Health literacy levels were moderate level (Mean score = 91.62, SD = ± 7.06) and pesticide use behaviors were low level (Mean score = 67.80, SD = ± 4.04). When examining the association between health literacy and pesticide use behaviors, we found that functional literacy was significantly associated with pesticide use behaviors. These findings suggest that health literacy, which includes self-management and decision-making skills, should be given greater attention as pesticide use behaviors were unsafe. Conclusion: It may be necessary to develop approaches to reduce pesticide use and promote health literacy, thereby protecting farmers, consumers, the environment (soil, water, and air) and ecosystems from pesticide-related hazards.
Highlights
Agricultural production accounts for 10% of the Kingdom of Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 60% of employment
When we analyzed the three phases of pesticide use (1. before pesticide application, 2. pesticide application, 3. pesticide application), we found that 44.10% of sweet corn farmers had a moderate standard of pesticide use behaviors at the ‘before pesticide application’ phase, 42.24% had a low standard of pesticide use behaviors at the ‘application’ phase and 43.48% of farmers had a moderate standard of pesticide use behaviors at the ‘after application’ phase (Table 5)
Findings included (1) the majority of sweet corn farmers did not follow the current recommended dose or number of sprays, (2) there are many pesticides used in the planting of sweet corn, (3) pesticides used in growing sweet corn have moderate toxicity and (4) the pesticide use behaviors during all phases of planting are unsafe[18]
Summary
Agricultural production accounts for 10% of the Kingdom of Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 60% of employment. The World Health Organization (WHO) classification of pesticides by hazard has been aligned with the GHS (The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals) acute toxicity hazard categories: Ia = extremely hazardous; Ib = highly hazardous; II = moderately hazardous; III = slightly hazardous; U = unlikely to present an acute hazard; O = Obsolete as pesticide (not classified)[3]. Those pesticides classified as toxic include glyphosate (III), paraquat (II), 2,4-D-dimethylammonium (II), atrazine (III), ametryn (II), 2,4-D-sodium, diuron (III), propyl (O), chlorpyrifos (II), and mancozeb (U). These findings suggest that health literacy, which includes self-management and decision-making skills, should be given greater attention as pesticide use behaviors were unsafe
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