article · PLoS ONE
A community-based study in the Fogera district wetland area of north-west Ethiopia examined pesticide safety practices and associated factors among agricultural workers. Using quantitative surveys of 430 farmers alongside qualitative interviews with 35 participants and stakeholders, the investigation assessed adherence to safe handling measures. Only 24.4 percent of participating farmers demonstrated good pesticide safety practices. Positive safety behaviour was significantly associated with higher educational attainment, greater spraying experience, solid knowledge of pesticide use, prior training, and access to protective equipment. Conversely, qualitative findings identified several critical barriers to safe handling, including scarce personal protective equipment, inadequate training opportunities, a lack of official guidelines, weak enforcement of existing legislation, limited media coverage, and insufficient government attention. These findings demonstrate that safe pesticide usage remains low in the surveyed wetland area, driven by systemic resource constraints and knowledge gaps.
Farmers in developing regions frequently handle hazardous agricultural chemicals, including substances restricted elsewhere, often without adequate protection. By revealing that fewer than a quarter of surveyed farmers follow safe practices, this research highlights serious occupational and environmental risks. The findings demonstrate that expanding training, improving safety equipment supply, and enforcing standards are critical to protecting rural workers and wetland ecosystems.
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BACKGROUND: Farmers in developing countries, including Ethiopia, are exposed to agricultural pesticides, including pesticides that are restricted or banned in developed countries. There is little information available on pesticide use safety practices and associated factors among Ethiopian farmers, particularly in the study area. OBJECTIVE: To assess pesticide use safety practices and associated factors among farmers in Fogera district wetland area, Amhara region, Northwest Ethiopia. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study design that employs quantitative and qualitative methods was used from August 25 to September 30, 2021. Four hundred thirty participants were included by using a stratified random sampling technique. Pre-tested interview questionnaires, observational checklists, and key informant and in-depth interview guides were used to collect data. The quantitative data were collected by face-to-face interviews of farmers, whereas the qualitative data were collected by in-depth interviews of selected farmers and key informant interviews of responsible stalk holders. The data were entered into Epi data version 4.6 and analyzed using SPSS version 21. Bi-variable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with the dependent variable. A p-value of less than 0.05 was used as a cut-off point to declare a statistically significant association between factors and outcome variables. The odds ratio and 95% CI were calculated to describe the strength of the association between factors and outcome variables. The qualitative study included 35 respondents from various backgrounds and levels of expertise, which were analyzed using thematic analysis by open-code 4.03 version software. RESULT: The proportion of good pesticide use safety practices in the study area was 24.4% (95% CI: 21.4%-29.3%). Educational status (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 3.19, 95% CI: 1.44-6.71), experience of pesticide spraying (AOR: 6.85. 95% CI: 2.426-9.35), knowledge of pesticide usage (AOR: 3.40, 95% CI: 1.459-7.855), access to safety materials (AOR: 2.06, 95% CI: 1.198-3.536), and ever having received training (AOR: 4.93, 95% CI: 2.88-8.59) were factors associated with good safety practice in pesticide use. Qualitatively, limited material access, lack of government attention, insufficient training opportunities, absence of media coverage, weak enforcement of laws, and limited guideline access barred good safety practices for pesticide use. CONCLUSION: The study revealed that good safety practices were low in the study area. Being educated, having experience with pesticide spraying, having good knowledge of pesticide usage, having access to safety materials, and having received pesticide use training all increased the likelihood of good pesticide use practice. Insufficient training opportunities and material access, weak law enforcement, limited access to guidelines, and a shortage of media coverage were challenges identified qualitatively.
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DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280185
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