Do typologies of pesticide risk knowledge influence the adoption of IPM strategies? Evidence from rice farmers' behavior in northern Iran

Abstract

BACKGROUNDThe active participation of farmers in adopting eco‐friendly practices is vital to mitigate the environmental and health risks linked to pesticide usage. Farmers' awareness of these risks significantly influences their adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) methods over traditional pesticide applications. This study sought to explore the range of understanding on pesticide effects, categorize IPM strategies employed in pest management, and examine the correlation between knowledge levels and IPM strategy choices. Data was gathered through structured questionnaires from 391 rice farmers in Sari County, Mazandaran province, Northern Iran.RESULTSExploratory factor analysis revealed three distinct dimensions of pesticide risk knowledge: namely, personal risk of pesticide, environmental risk of pesticide, and community risk of pesticide. Furthermore, the study identified three primary categories of IPM strategies: high familiarity strategies, intermediate familiarity strategies, and low familiarity strategies. The results of the regression analysis indicated that the personal risk of pesticides (β = 0.556; p < 0.01) and environmental risk of pesticides (β = 0.262; p < 0.01) are significantly correlated with the adoption of high familiarity IPM strategies. Furthermore, the study revealed that there was no significant statistical evidence to support the notion that different types of pesticide risk knowledge had any influence on the adoption of intermediate and low familiarity strategies.CONCLUSIONThe findings of this study imply the critical importance for agricultural extension programs to focus on enhancing farmers' knowledge of pesticide risks and various IPM strategies.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.