Factors affecting pesticide safety behaviour: The perceptions of Nepalese farmers and retailers

Bhandari, Govinda; Atreya, Kishor; Yang, Xiaomei; Fan, Liangxin; Geissen, Violette

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.03.144

Cited by 110 publications

(87 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Overall, inappropriate use of toxic pesticides combined with a weak or more or less absent legislative framework as well as missing inspection by authorities are some major reasons for the higher prevalence of pesticide related symptoms and diseases in developing countries. Low education of the rural population, lack of information and training on pesticide safety, poor spraying technology, and inadequate personal protection are key elements of higher exposure in field workers (e.g., [ 43 , 44 , 45 ]). In general, knowledge of the main determinants of pesticide exposure in countries of the global south is often poor.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subjective Symptoms of Male Workers Linked to Occupational Pesticide Exposure on Coffee Plantations in the Jarabacoa Region, Dominican Republic

Hutter

Kundi

Lemmerer

et al. 2018

IJERPH

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Acute and sub-acute effects of pesticide use in coffee farmers have rarely been investigated. In the present field study, self-reported health symptoms from 38 male pesticide users were compared to those of 33 organic farmers. Results of cytological findings have been reported in an accompanying paper in this issue. The present second part of the study comprises a questionnaire based survey for various, potentially pesticide related symptoms among the coffee farmers. Symptom rates were generally higher in exposed workers, reaching significance in nine out of 19 assessed symptoms. Significantly increased symptom frequencies were related to neurotoxicity, parasympathic effects and acetylcholine esterase inhibition, with the highest differences found for excessive salivation, dizziness and stomach ache. We revealed a lack of precautionary measures in the majority of farmers. Better education, regulations, and safety equipment are urgently needed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subjective Symptoms of Male Workers Linked to Occupational Pesticide Exposure on Coffee Plantations in the Jarabacoa Region, Dominican Republic

Hutter

Kundi

Lemmerer

et al. 2018

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Following a bottom up approach for the investigation of possible accidents and incidents allows for a more effective and thorough analysis of health and safety issues [37,76]. Hence, unlike other studies that have dealt with human safety in agriculture (e.g., [15,30,77,78]), the present study proposes a systematic and inductive approach to depict human error types and modes, and provides timely information for the implementation of remedial measures. In fact, the use of HTA allows the breakdown of work phases into elementary tasks/specific activities, thus providing an easy-to-use framework for the application of SHERPA.…”

Section: Research Insightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applying Hierarchical Task Analysis to Depict Human Safety Errors during Pesticide Use in Vineyard Cultivation

2019

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The use of pesticides in agriculture is a significant problem at a global level, not only from an environmental perspective but also from the farmers’ health and safety point of view. In the literature, several studies have discussed the safe behavior and risk perception of farmers. However, human errors when dealing with pesticides and the related work equipment are rarely considered. To reduce this research gap, a study of the human safety errors in pesticide use based on hierarchical task analysis is proposed. In particular, such a bottom-up approach was applied to vineyard cultivation and considered all the activities that operators carry out when using pesticides. The results of this study showed that most of the identified human errors were action errors, i.e., potential failures of the operator in completing the activity successfully. In addition, retrieval and checking errors resulted in being rather common. These outputs shed light on the gap between the information received and the practical need for operators to reduce their failure to perform specific activities. Therefore, while the present study augments current knowledge on the safe use of pesticides, further research is needed to address human errors in agricultural activities, thus extending these results to a larger sample size as well as to other cultivation types.

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“…Previous research showed that pesticide exposure knowledge was strongly related to perceived risk [11]. Training programs on safe handling practices, including long-term hazards of pesticides on health and the environment, can promote safety among farmers and pesticide retailers [12,13]. However, the decision of farmers to use PPE was personal and influenced little by outside parties [14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of Personal Safety in Agriculture: A Case Study with Pesticide Operators

2019

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Agriculture is a hazardous occupational industry for farmers and farm workers; therefore, decisions to improve safety in the working place require understanding behavior of farmers and farm workers and factors affecting it. This study examined factors influencing perceived importance of personal safety and safe behavior of farmers in terms of personal protective equipment (PPE) use in pesticide spraying. Data were collected from a previous survey of farmers in rural areas of northern Greece. Over half of the farmers (55.4%) perceived low importance of personal safety in pesticide spraying. Perceived importance of personal safety increased in young farmers, with high education level, and large land area as well as with high perception of risk, knowledge of pesticide toxicity, seminar in pesticide use, access to internet, and perceived usefulness of PPE. Most farmers showed unsafe behavior in PPE use in terms of using long-sleeved shirt, long pants, chemical resistant gloves, socks, and shoes (58.9%). Farmers perceived low risk of pesticides (65.2%), despite the fact that two out of three farmers (66.1%) perceived high usefulness of PPE. Safe behavior in pesticide use increased in young farmers, with high education level, and small land area as well as with high perception of risk, knowledge of pesticide toxicity, seminar in pesticide use, access to internet, and perceived usefulness of PPE. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that knowledge of pesticide toxicity, education, age, and farm size were significant predictors of perceived importance of personal safety. In addition, self-confidence in spraying, following colleagues’ behaviors, risk perception, knowledge of pesticide toxicity, and farm size were significant predictors of safe behavior in terms of PPE use during pesticide spraying. Findings highlight differences in how farmers perceive personal safety and how they finally respond in daily action with respect to personal safety measures. Perception of risk, knowledge of pesticide toxicity, and farm size were common significant predictors for both variables. Lifelong education targeting promotion of knowledge about pesticide risks among farmers should be always a priority.

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Factors affecting pesticide safety behaviour: The perceptions of Nepalese farmers and retailers

Cited by 110 publications

References 54 publications

Subjective Symptoms of Male Workers Linked to Occupational Pesticide Exposure on Coffee Plantations in the Jarabacoa Region, Dominican Republic

Subjective Symptoms of Male Workers Linked to Occupational Pesticide Exposure on Coffee Plantations in the Jarabacoa Region, Dominican Republic

Applying Hierarchical Task Analysis to Depict Human Safety Errors during Pesticide Use in Vineyard Cultivation

Drivers of Personal Safety in Agriculture: A Case Study with Pesticide Operators

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