| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2019 | Volume
: 23
| Issue : 1 | Page : 32-36 |
Knowledge and perception of farmers regarding pesticide usage in a rural farming village, Southern India
Minnikanti Venkata Satya Sai, G Devi Revati, R Ramya, Ann Mary Swaroop, Eswaran Maheswari, Mudigubba Manoj Kumar
Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, M. S. Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Minnikanti Venkata Satya Sai
Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, M. S. Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, MSRIT Post, Bengaluru - 560 054, Karnataka
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/ijoem.IJOEM_121_18
Background: Farmers are extensively using pesticides for pest control in agriculture. Their precarious handling practices may lead to higher exposure resulting in adverse health effects. Aim: Current study was aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding pesticide usage and its toxic effects by farmers. Settings and Design: Cross sectional, Study Setting: Rural village in south Karnataka. Materials and Methods: Sample size: 171 farmers, Data collection: face to face standardized validated questionnaire. Statistical Analysis: Chi-square test. Results: A total of 118 males and 53 females participated in this study with median age of 40 years. About 61% of the farmers knew the harmful effects of pesticides. However, 22% of them were mixing the pesticides using their bare hands and 26% were not wearing any protective clothing during spraying pesticides. Around 67% were carelessly disposing the leftover pesticides in the open fields. Skin problems and neurological system disturbances were the most common pesticide related health symptoms. Equipment washing practices (P < 0.05) and protective clothing (P < 0.03) were significant predictors of health related problems. Significant associations were found between the occurrence of headache and equipment washing practices (P < 0.03), storage of pesticide remains (P < 0.02) and protective clothing (P < 0.01). Conclusion: These findings showed that knowledge level is adequate among farmers but this did not reflect in their practice. There is a need for continuous pesticide safety education along with training to the farmers regarding use of personal protective devices, personal hygiene and sanitation practices during and after application of pesticides.
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