Pesticide handling and exposures among cotton farmers in the gambia

Agrochemical Health Risks Exposure and Its Determinants: Empirical Evidence among Cassava Farmers in Nigeria

Background: Over the years there has been a change in the dimensions of agricultural health risk exposure among crop farmers in Nigeria due to innovation adoption. This study assessed agrochemical health risk exposures and its determinants among cassava farmers in Nigeria.Method: The study engaged the baseline of a longitudinal study conducted using a standardized questionnaire. Randomly selected and interviewed for the study were 480 small-scale cassava farmers across 24 farming communities in Kogi and Kwara States, Nigeria. Descriptive statistics, binary regression model, and Likert scale were used for analysis.Results: Most of the farmers were exposed to agrochemical health risks in cassava operations. The frequently used chemicals belong to WHO class II and III. There was poor knowledge of safe farm practices among cassava farmers. About 77% of farmers reported not using complete protective equipment while handling farm chemicals. Several risk factors were associated with farm chemical health risks exposure, including inappropriate time of spray (Odd ratio [OR] = 1.21), frequency of spray (OR = 1.06), long hours of daily chemical spray (OR = 1.10), and non-usage of chemical labels (OR = 2.31).Conclusion:The study concluded cassava farmers in some selected communities in Kogi and Kwara States, North-Central Nigeria engage in unsafe farm practices via the use of farm chemicals that expose them to health risks. There is, therefore, a need for efficiently delivered agricultural health education as an intervention tool to alleviate Nigerian crop farmers from being exposed to such health risks.

Pesticide Poisoning and the Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in Indonesian Farmers

This study aimed to investigate the poisoning symptoms occurring in pesticide-exposed farmers. This study was conducted in a red onion farming center area in Wanasari Subdistrict, Brebes, Indonesia, from May to June 2018. This study was designed as the descriptive study. The significance value of p < 0.005 showed that the variable was correlated with the health problems, including excessive fatigue (p value = 0.041), excessive saliva (p value = 0.006), hard breathing (p value = 0.021), frequent urination (p value = 0.047), blurred vision (p value = 0.059), dizziness (p value = 0.032), and finger pain (p value = 0.007). The significance value (p < 0.005) of 0.000 showed that the use of personal protective equipment was correlated with the health problems. Based on the odds ratio value of 1.137, 95% confidence interval = 0.042-0.444 meant that the personal protective equipment was a risk factor of health problems. The results showed that 89.2% of the farmers who used the personal protective equipment were categorized in the healthy group.

Climate variability, perceptions and political ecology: Factors influencing changes in pesticide use over 30 years by Zimbabwean smallholder cotton producers

Pesticides represent a potential public health hazard of note in farming communities. Accumulating evidence indicates that some pesticides used in agriculture act as hormone disrupters, with the potential to result in chronic health effects. Despite such a growing evidence base, pesticides remain the preferred method of pest control in agriculture worldwide. In many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, usage is on the increase. This qualitative study assessed changes in the usage of pesticides by Zimbabwean smallholder cotton farmers in the past 30 years. Farmers reported an increase in the usage of pesticides, specifically insecticides, since the early 1980s. An increase in pest populations was also reported. The findings suggested a bi-directional causal relationship between the increase in pest population and the increase in pesticide use. Factors which emerged to have collectively impacted on the changes include climate variability, limited agency on the part of farmers, power dynamics involving the government and private cotton companies and farmers' perceptions and practices. An Integrated Pest Management Policy for Zimbabwe is recommended to facilitate integration of chemical controls with a broad range of other pest control tactics. Continuous farmer education and awareness raising is further recommended, since farmers' perceptions can influence their practices.

Knowledge and Practices Relating to Acute Pesticide Poisoning Among Health Care Providers in Selected Regions of Tanzania

BACKGROUND

Acute pesticide poisoning (APP) is commonly underdiagnosed in Tanzania. Studies in developing countries suggest that a lack of diagnostic skills among health care providers (HCPs) undermines surveillance for APP. This study aimed at characterizing experience and skills of Tanzanian HCPs regarding APP diagnosis and management.

METHODOLOGY

The population included HCPs responsible for managing APP in Kilimanjaro and Arusha regions (n = 91). The resulting sample included 66 respondents (response rate: 73%). The data were collected in 2005 using a standardized questionnaire.

RESULTS

Half of all respondents (50%) reported handling at least 1 APP case with 15% reporting handling more than 5 cases in the past. Reported experience of handling an APP case was marginally higher in respondents who reported ⩾4 years of work experience in the health sector compared with those with <4 years of work experience (odds ratio = 1.32; 95% confidence interval = 0.9-1.5). Most of the respondents had high knowledge of exposure routes, reporting awareness of oral (98.5%), inhalational (93.9%), and dermal (77%) routes. The study revealed low awareness of pesticide classification by chemical groups (29%) or World Health Organization hazard (0%) and weak knowledge on pesticide label instructions (55%). Organophosphates accounted for 35% of the pesticide products reported by respondents as being responsible for poisoning. Some treatment options were incorrectly reported as first aid options, and some reported first aid options were wrong or inappropriate.

CONCLUSIONS

The study revealed that HCPs in northern Tanzania lack adequate skills to diagnose and manage APP. For effective surveillance of APP, there is a need to include training on hazards, classification, diagnosis, and health effects in the training programmes for all HCPs in Tanzania.

Awareness and Need for Knowledge of Health and Safety among Dairy Farmers Interviewed in Uganda

Introduction

Safe working conditions are essential for healthy living and for ensuring food security among farmers and farm communities in developing countries. There is limited research on this topic, and documentation is essential to understand and change patterns of human health and safety.

Methods

In May 2014, six male and female farmers on four dairy farms in Uganda and a female veterinarian were interviewed about their awareness and attitudes to agricultural risk factors, health, and safety. In addition, transect walks were conducted on the four dairy farms.

Results

The dairy farmers reported health and safety concerns, e.g., diarrhea, coughs, fever, cuts while using machetes in plantations, bruises when handling animals, and dizziness and poisoning symptoms from using different agrochemicals, and considered these an occupational hazard. The most important topic mentioned was the use of agrochemicals and drugs on livestock. The farmers spray their animals with insecticides to prevent ticks, lice, tsetse flies, and other biting nuisance flies, using a backpack or hand sprayer. Spraying is conducted without personal protection equipment, which is considered too expensive and difficult to obtain. The farmers reported that they usually feel dizzy, vomit, and have pain and a burning feeling in their face and eyes after spraying. The symptoms are sometimes so severe that they require treatment. In such cases, the farmers buy medication without a prescription at the local drugstore, where the storekeeper often has limited or no knowledge of agrochemicals or drugs except for dosage. Agricultural health and safety training in the region is non-existent, and the farmers expressed a need and desire for improvements in this area.

Conclusion

The level of knowledge and awareness of agricultural health and safety risks, disease, and injury prevention among the Ugandan dairy farmers interviewed was low. The farmers mentioned few agriculture-related complaints, injuries, or diseases except poisoning from using agrochemicals. Training on health and safety in Ugandan agriculture is urgently needed.

Pesticide use practices in rural Armenia

Pesticide use can have adverse effects on both human health and the environment. Inappropriate use of pesticides increases the health risk to those who work with or live around pesticides. Educational programs for agricultural workers on the proper use of pesticides and personal protective equipment coupled with pesticide regulations are important tools to reduce the associated health risks. The authors conducted a survey (N = 2336) on pesticide use practices in the Ararat Valley of Armenia in 2000-2006. This study was a cross-sectional design. A multistage sampling method was implemented in the selection of the study population. The authors developed a questionnaire containing 173 questions to evaluate demographic characteristics, health conditions, and details of pesticides use practices. The intensity of pesticide use was high; 82.8% of respondents used them. More than 150 brand names of pesticides were in use. Unregistered, obsolete, expired, and banned compounds were found in active use. Poor compliance with the basic rules of pesticide safety was found throughout the study population, with 21.3% using gloves and only 11% using respirators. The agricultural workers' knowledge of the toxic properties of these pesticides as well as basic hygienic norms was very low. In some instances, the number of agrichemical applications to crops, particularly cucumbers and melons, reached 40 applications during the growing season. Better protection and training of pesticide users in Armenia is needed.

The call to action: health promotion in The Gambia - closing the implementation gap?

This paper discusses the difficulties facing the development of health promotion in The Gambia, and in 'closing the implementation gap' noted by the WHO 7(th) Global Conference on Health Promotion (2009, Nairobi). The Gambia has achieved a great deal so far, but health promotion as a discipline has not really informed the development of its approach to health. There is not a central concern with determinants of health and tackling health inequalities and there is no well-developed health promotion infrastructure. The difficulties facing sub-Saharan Africa generally can be extrapolated from the paper, with the conclusion that sub-Saharan Africa faces many disease and health challenges not experienced by richer countries and thus not only does the discourse of health promotion need to take this into account, but also the basic needs of Africa need to be placed at the forefront.

Occupational pesticide exposures and respiratory health

Pesticides have been widely used to control pest and pest-related diseases in agriculture, fishery, forestry and the food industry. In this review, we identify a number of respiratory symptoms and diseases that have been associated with occupational pesticide exposures. Impaired lung function has also been observed among people occupationally exposed to pesticides. There was strong evidence for an association between occupational pesticide exposure and asthma, especially in agricultural occupations. In addition, we found suggestive evidence for a link between occupational pesticide exposure and chronic bronchitis or COPD. There was inconclusive evidence for the association between occupational pesticide exposure and lung cancer. Better control of pesticide uses and enforcement of safety behaviors, such as using personal protection equipment (PPE) in the workplace, are critical for reducing the risk of developing pesticide-related symptoms and diseases. Educational training programs focusing on basic safety precautions and proper uses of personal protection equipment (PPE) are possible interventions that could be used to control the respiratory diseases associated with pesticide exposure in occupational setting.