PurposeInappropriate application of pesticides is quite common in the study area, causing health issues and in some cases fatalities. The intent of the current study is to gauge the farmers’ level of knowledge on the safe usage of pesticides and biosafety to keep the famers healthy through the focused extension programs.MethodologyThe study is carried out in 41 union councils of Tehsil Sahiwal, District Sahiwal, Punjab, Pakistan. Data are collected through a cluster sampling technique by conducting face-to-face interviews. Statistical analysis is used to determine relationships and interpret them.ResultsThe findings show that the majority of farmers (87.2%) earn their livelihoods from farming and 2.1% are traders. More than half of the respondents (51.8%) own small land-holdings with an area of 4–8 ha, with only 16.4% having a land area of more than 12 ha. The results also reveal that the majority of respondents obtain information from private agents and only about one third (34.4%) respondents get information on the safe usage of pesticides from the Department of Agriculture (Extension). The internet has emerged as a fast and reliable source of information in the new paradigm; however, only 14.4% of the respondents take advantage of this economical and fast information tool/medium. The findings also reveal that the farmers employ unhealthy and poor practices by not following the recommendations regarding the safe usage of pesticides. The study also reveals that more than half of the farmers (54.4%) use unsafe storage practices on their farms, and about 48.2% do not follow the instructions.ConclusionsInappropriate application of pesticides can have negative effects on human health and the adoption safety measures are necessary to avoid the harmful effects of pesticides. Due to high illiteracy in the area, farmers mainly seek advice of neighboring farmers, having ignorance on the biosafety issues. Variables like education level, land ownership, total land size and the trainings on safe pesticide usage significantly influence the knowledge level of farmers on the safe usage of pesticides.RecommendationsFarmers do not follow the recommendations of the extension department or the instructions printed on pesticide bottles/containers, therefore educational (formal and informal) and training programs are necessary on the safe pesticide usage to upgrade their skills and expertise on safe usage of pesticides and the importance of biosafety.

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The growing alignment between Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) and cooperation development actors has contributed to creating new partnerships to be harnessed in addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (e.g., SDG 17). This study aimed to map the key characteristics of engagements between NPOs and other actors. An analytical framework was designed to map the partnerships in terms of four main areas, namely, drivers, motivations, the partnership’s characteristics, and outcomes. Charitable associations were selected as a representative type of NPO. The study analyzed 459 partnerships established by charities in the Riyadh region during 2016–2018. The findings showed that the associations engaged in partnerships mainly to enhance their financial stability. Cross-sector partnerships were observed in 63.4% of the cases, principally with the private sector. The results also indicated that 89.7% of the partnerships could be called “transactional partnerships” in cases of both philanthropic and social investment partnerships. It could be concluded that the mapping framework provides useful information for policy-makers concerned with how charitable associations engaged with the other actors, as well as the existing policy gaps to be implemented for sustainability.

Climate change constitutes a major threat to agricultural production, food security, and natural resource management. Saudi Arabia is particularly susceptible to increasing temperatures and extreme climatic events, such as arid weather and drought. The purpose of this study is to assess farmers’ beliefs and concerns as regards climate change. Extensive interviews were conducted with 164 farmers in the Jazan region. Results revealed that 89.6% of the farmers believed that climate change is due to human activities and 93.3% believed that it is because of natural change. Seventy-five percent of the farmers were concerned about insects and 73% about the prevalence of weeds on their farms. Findings of cluster analysis revealed that farmers who are more likely to believe in climate change are more in agreement with the role of extension services in capacity building. Farmers’ beliefs about climate change were significantly influenced by membership of agricultural cooperatives, access to loans, use of extension services, age, farm size, and level of soil fertility. Access to loans was the only significant factor to explain the differences in farmers’ concerns. These results suggest the need for capacity-building activities targeted at improving farmers’ adaptability to manage climate variability.

The aim was to investigate the marginal fit, internal adaptation and compressive strength of SLA provisionals (SLA) in comparison to CAD-CAM and conventional (CONV) interim fixed partial dentures (FPDs). Thirty interim FPDs were fabricated using CAD-CAM technology (CAD-CAM blocks Ceramill TEMP, PMMA), conventional molding technique (CONV) (TrimPlus, PMMA) and Stereolithography (SLA) method (Form 2, Formlabs, PMMA) (n = 10). Internal adaptation (occlusal, coronal, middle and cervical) and marginal integrity (inner and outer edge) was assessed using micro-computerized tomography (Micro-CT). The failure and compressive strength was assessed by application of a static load at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min until fracture. Data was analysed using ANOVA and multiple comparisons test. The maximum and minimum marginal mis-fit was for CONV (283.3± 98.6 nm) and CAD-CAM (68.2± 18.1 m) groups. CAD-CAM (68.2± 18.1 m) and SLA (84.7± 27.5 m) provisionals showed comparable marginal mis-fit (p > 0.05). The mean failure load was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in CAD-CAM (687.86± 46.72 N), compared to SLA (534.8± 46.1 N) and CONV (492.7± 61.8 N) samples. Compressive strength for CAD-CAM (2.44± 0.27 MPa) samples was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than SLA (1.80± 0.15 MPa) and CONV (1.65± 0.20 MPa) groups. Marginal fit and internal adaptation of SLA printed FPDs was comparable to CAD-CAM interims. Compressive strength of the SLA interims FPDs can withstand intra-oral loads.