Egyptian Farmers' Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Agricultural Pesticides: Implications for Pesticide Risk Communication
- 1 August 2006
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Risk Analysis
- Vol. 26 (4), 989-995
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2006.00794.x
Abstract
The need to boost pre- and postharvest agricultural productivity serves as a powerful driving force for developing countries to promote the use of agricultural pesticides. Pesticides are, however, "poisons by design" and poisonings resulting from unsafe use of these chemicals are the most prevalent and serious occupational hazards faced by agricultural workers in developing countries. This article provides the results of a study designed to investigate the extent of unsafe use of pesticides by farmers in one of the largest agricultural areas in Egypt, the farmers' knowledge about pesticides, and their preferred sources of receiving risk information on pesticides. The results of this study show a high level of unsafe use of pesticides and inappropriate methods of disposal of empty pesticide containers. Also, knowledge about pesticides is scant. Notwithstanding that more than half of the farmers obtain regular drinking water from wells, most of the respondents were "not sure" as to whether or not pesticides may contaminate groundwater. The low level of knowledge about pesticides can be attributed to relatively low levels of education and that almost all the respondents have never participated in a pesticide education program. This article concludes with a recommendation for pesticide and pesticide use education programs, especially through "ministry officials" who most of the respondents seem to trust regarding receiving pesticide information.Keywords
This publication has 11 references indexed in Scilit:
- Health Risk Assessment of Pesticide Usage in Menia El-Kamh Province of Sharkia Governorate in EgyptInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2002
- Knowledge, attitude, practice, and toxicity symptoms associated with pesticide use among farm workers in the Gaza StripOccupational and Environmental Medicine, 2002
- Relocated Citizens' Perceptions and Attitudes Regarding Indoor Application of Toxic Agricultural PesticidesJournal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 2000
- Association of Pesticide Safety Knowledge With Beliefs and Intentions Among Farm Pesticide ApplicatorsJournal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2000
- Agricultural Pesticide Use in Developing Countries: Health Effects and Research NeedsInternational Journal of Health Services, 1997
- The problems associated with pesticide use by irrigation workers in GhanaOccupational Medicine, 1997
- Pesticides hazards in developing countriesScience of The Total Environment, 1996
- Problem‐solving in the fields: An action‐oriented approach to farmworker education about pesticidesAmerican Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1992
- Pesticides and the third worldJournal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, 1991
- Residues of organochlorine pesticides in some Nigerian food materialsBulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 1985