Knowledge, attitudes and practices on pesticide exposure and safety among smallholder farmers of Mitete parish, Sembabule district

Abstract

Pesticides are often used in agricultural production to control weeds, diseases and other plant pathogens in an effort to reduce yield losses and maintain high quality products. Occupational pesticide exposure widely occurs in the case of smallholder farmers in open fields and people employed in the industry of pesticides. Pesticide exposure is a serious public health threat due to the risks associated with it in case safety measures are not put in place. There is limited information regarding the knowledge, attitudes and practices on pesticide exposure and safety among smallholder farmers of Mitete parish, Sembabule district. To assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices on pesticide exposure and safety among smallholder farmers of Mitete parish, Sembabule district so as to get information that can be used to control this public health challenge. A descriptive study that used a mixed method approach utilizing both quantitative (cross-sectional study) and qualitative methods was used. The quantitative data was collected from 278 smallholder farmers of Mitete parish, Sembabule district using a structured questionnaire that was entered in a mobile Kobo collect tool. Systematic random sampling and simple random sampling methods were used to select the study participants. Qualitative data was collected from key informants including agrochemical retailers, agricultural extension worker, heads of farmers’ groups and Local Council 1 Chairpersons using a key informant interview guide. Quantitative data was downloaded into Microsoft Excel for cleaning and exported to STATA, Stata 14 (64-bit) Software for univariable analysis. Thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. The majority of participants were not aware of the toxicity color codes present on labels 73.7% (205/278). Most participants 86.7% (241/278) had never had any training on how to use pesticides. Most participants 85.0% (216/278) reported that rainy weather was the most inappropriate weather condition for spraying pesticides. Many participants 55.0% (153/278) thought it was appropriate to enter recently sprayed fields. The majority of participants 93.5% (260/278) had ever used pesticides, over half of them, 51.5% (134/278) did not know how to safely use them. The majority of participants 67.6% (188/278) wore gumboots while spraying pesticides. According to the key informants, not only do pesticides affect the health of people if they do not protect themselves, but also affect the environment (soil micro-organisms and nearby water sources) if poorly managed. Emergency comprehensive intervention measures should be put in place to reduce major health hazards to smallholder farmers, farmworkers, their families and nearby ecosystems. Such measures include training about safe pesticide application, access to personal protective equipment and measures that minimize cost barriers to taking on safe behaviors.