Agricultural pesticide use and misuse: A study to assess the cognizance and practices among North Indian farmers

Abstract

Introduction: Farmers’ cognizance regarding pesticide use and overuse is limited and their practices for handling of pesticides is unsatisfactory. However, their perception concerning risks and safety of pesticides play a very important role in safe spraying and indirectly protect them from adverse health hazards. Objective: To assess the cognizance about use and risks of overuse of pesticides and evaluate practices for the storage, preparation, and disposal of pesticides. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 387 farmers of Lucknow who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. A multistage random sampling was done to interview the farmers. A pretested structured questionnaire was to collect the information regarding the cognizance about use and risks of overuse of pesticides and evaluate practices for the storage, preparation, and disposal of pesticides. Results: More than half (55%) of the farmers did not read and follow the pesticide label. Maximum (80.2%) were unaware that pesticides are banned or restricted for use. Thirty-seven percent did not know that some pesticides may cause lethal intoxications. Majority of the farmers (42.6%) stored the pesticides anywhere in the house. More than two-thirds of the farmers (69.7%) mixed only needed pesticides followed by a low percentage of them applying on other crops (15.8%) and dispose in the field (11.7%). Conclusion: The study concludes that cognizance and practices of the farmers for pesticide use and risks associated with it was not satisfactory and exposes them to adverse health outcomes.

Knowledge, attitude, and practice of pesticide use among agricultural workers of Lamatar Village Development Committee, Lalitpur District: A cross-sectional study

“…However, many of them 27(36.5%), do not take a bath immediately after spraying and dispersing pesticides nor wear glasses or boots when spraying this is not similar to the finding reported by Rostami et al17 The farmer wears a hat or clothes when spraying, and do not smoke or eat or drink, and also puts long sleeves clothes during spraying pesticides, which is in alignment with finding in other studies 8…”

Field and residential exposure of pesticides : Integrated risk analysis on terrestrial ecosystem and rural residents

“…As exhibited in chapter 2, pesticides have been frequently misused in the study region, as pesticides have been applied in excessive dosages, and banned pesticides have been used. Similar trends in pesticide usage were also found in other regions of China and in developing countries, especially in southeast Asia (Grovermann et al, 2013;Jauhari et al, 2022;Schreinemachers et al, 2020). In Quzhou county, over half of the survey respondents showed pesticide misuse, with the highest misuse rates in orchards.…”

“…The overuse of pesticides described in our study is in line with the findings of Sun et al (2019) and , who found excessive applications in tomato and cumcumber fields in China. Pesticide misuse has also been reported in India, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam (Grovermann et al, 2013;Jauhari et al, 2022;Schreinemachers et al, 2020), with a misuse rate exceeding 77%. In particular, all interviewed vegetable growers in Vietnam were found to overuse pesticides, posing a highly concerning level of potential exposure risks to farmers and to the environment.…”

Empowering Farmers to Enhance Water Use Efficiency: Innovative Practices in SSPC

“…The pesticides are considered a vital component of modern farming, playing a major role in maintaining high agricultural productivity. However, cognizance and practices of the farmers for pesticide use, and risks associated with it was not satisfactory and exposes them to adverse health outcomes [4]. The presence of pesticide residues poses a significant threat to groundwater contamination, which is particularly concerning as groundwater serves as a primary source of drinking water.…”