Background. Inappropriate use and application of pesticides in Ethiopia pose a major threat to the health of farmers and the environment. Objective. The present study aimed to assess the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices of small-scale vegetable farmers towards the use of pesticides in Ethiopia along the Lake Ziway watershed. Methods. This was a cross-sectional study involving a total of 210 farmers randomly selected during a period of pesticide application from a purposively selected village located in the immediate vicinity of Lake Ziway, Ethiopia. Data were generated through structured in-depth interviews and on-site observations on farms. A Chi-square test was applied to evaluate whether the collected data and their probable associations were significant. Results. World Health Organization (WHO) class II pesticides (moderately toxic) were the most frequently used pesticides in the study area. There was no reported use of WHO classes 1a and 1b and banned or restricted pesticides such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and endosulfan. Most (92%) farmers reported indiscriminately disposing of empty containers in the field, while 86.7% applied the leftover pesticides to other crops. More than 90% of small-scale farmers did not use any personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling pesticides. About 95% of farmers had poor knowledge regarding pesticides. A significant association (p < 0.001) was observed between the knowledge of farmers and their practices related to pesticides. Conclusions. Generally, the knowledge of small-scale farmers on pesticides was poor. Moreover, the inappropriate disposal of pesticides and pesticide containers poses a risk to the environment. The findings of the present study underline the need to train farmers concerning the safe and proper use of pesticides to mitigate hazards to human health and the environment. Participant Consent. Obtained Ethics Approval. The study was granted an exemption from requiring ethics approval from the Hawassa University College of Natural and Computational Science, Research and Review Committee. Competing Interests. The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Background: The insecure utilization and misapplication of pesticides in Ethiopia are major fears to farmers' wellbeing and the ecosystem. This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge, attitude, and practices of the small-scale vegetable farmers towards the use of pesticides in Ethiopia along the littoral of Lake Ziway. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study involving a total of 210 farmers randomly selected during pesticide application from a purposively selected irrigation-using village located in the immediate vicinity of Lake Ziway. Data were generated through structured in-depth interviews and observations on-farms. A chi-square test was applied to evaluate whether the collected data and their probable association were significant. Results: The results show that WHO class II pesticides (moderately toxic) are the most frequently used pesticides in the study area. The use of WHO classes 1a and 1b and banned or restricted pesticides such as DDT and Endosulfan were not reported. A great portion (92%) of farmers indiscriminately disposed of empty containers in the field while 86.7% apply the leftover pesticides to other crops. More than 90% of small-scale farmers did not use any personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling pesticides. About 95% of farmers had poor knowledge regarding pesticides. A significant association (p < 0.001) was observed between the knowledge of the farmers and their practices related to the pesticide. Conclusion: Generally, the Knowledge of small-scale farmers on pesticides was poor. Moreover inappropriate disposal of pesticides and its container will damage the environment. The finding of the study underlines the need to train framers concerning the safe and proper use of pesticides to prevent health and environmental hazards.

Diaion® HP-20 resin passive samplers deployed in water and sediment samples collected from Lake Ziway were analyzed for 30 organochlorine, organophosphorus, carboxamide, and pyrethroid pesticide residues. The samples were collected from purposely selected sampling stations in five sites on Lake Ziway. Levels of selected pesticides were determined by GC–MS/MS in all samples. p,p′DDE and boscalid residues were the only detected pesticides in sediment samples. Similarly, only metalaxyl and boscalid residues were recovered from HP-20 resins. The concentration of p,p′DDE and boscalid in sediment ranged from 0.66–7.23 and 0.1–15.26 ng g−1 dry weight respectively. The presence of p,p′DDE but no other metabolites of DDT in all sediment samples indicated that DDT residues in Ziway Lake were aged and probably originated from the weathered agricultural soils of the surrounding region. The highest level of boscalid was recorded at Site 2 (near the floriculture enterprises) both in sediment and in HP-20 resins with a mean concentration of 11.8 ng g−1 dw and 39.6 ng g−1 disk respectively. However, the concertation of metalaxyl was the highest in the HP-20 resins deployed at Site1 and Site 4 (near the intensive small-scale vegetable farm) with a mean concentration of 54.7 ng g−1 disk and 54.3 ng g−1 disk respectively. Generally, most sampling sites of p,p′DDE were found to have a moderate ecological risk based on levels specified in the sediment quality standards. Moreover, the relatively high boscalid and metalaxyl levels in HP-20 deployed in Lake Ziway would be the result of recent intensive pesticide use by floriculture enterprises and small-scale vegetable farmers in the region. A spatial variation on the accumulation of detected pesticides among the sampling sites depends on the anthropogenic activities, around the lake from the point and non-point sources. Although most of the analyzed pesticides were below the detectable limit, further studies and continued monitoring of currently used pesticide residues in the Lake are highly recommended.

The levels of 27 selected pesticides and trophic biomagnification of DDT were investigated in biota samples of the Lake Ziway in the Rift valley region, Ethiopia. Pesticide residues were analyzed using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC MS). Carbon source and trophic position were calculated by using 13C and 15N stable isotopes, individually, and trophic magnification factors (TMFs) were inferred. Among pesticides analyzed, only DDT and its metabolites (o,pʹ-DDD, o,pʹ-DDE, p,pʹ-DDD, and p,pʹ-DDE) were quantified in biota samples. The most prominent metabolite was p,pʹ-DDE with mean concentration ranging from the 0.22-7.7ngg− 1 wet weight. Moreover, the ratio of DDT/DDD + DDE in all the biota samples was less than 1 signifying historical DDT application. The trophic magnification factor (TMF) for p,pʹ-DDE, and ΣDDT were 1.18 and 1.19 respectively. Regression of log [ΣDDT] vs TL (trophic level) among all biota species showed a significant correlation, indicating that DDTs are biomagnifying along with the food web of Lake Ziway. The concentrations of DDTs and other organochlorine pesticides found in biota from Lake Ziway were, in general, lower than studies found in previous studies carried out in the same lake.