Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, United Kingdom.
Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, United Kingdom.
Environ Int. 2016 Sep;94:458-466. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2016.05.034. Epub 2016 Jun 15.
One of the biggest challenges faced by Sierra Leonean farmers is pest control. Birds, rodents, insects, crustaceans and other organisms can drastically reduce yields. In order to prevent these organisms from destroying their crop, farmers use pesticides. However there are reports that these chemicals are being misused and such misuse is having a negative impact on the environment and the health of the farmers. This research study aimed to investigate the use of pesticides in rice fields and its potential effects on the environment and on the farmers of Sierra Leone. Five hundred farmers and one hundred health workers across the country were interviewed. Fifty focus group discussions were also completed. Field observations were also undertaken to see how farmers apply pesticides to their farms and the possible threats these methods have on human health and the environment. It is clear that a wide range of pesticides are used by rice farmers in Sierra Leone with 60% of the pesticides used entering the country illegally. Most farmers have no knowledge about the safe handling of pesticides as 71% of them have never received any form of training. The pesticides kill both target and non-target organisms some of which enter the food chain. Cases of health problems such as nausea, respiratory disorders and blurred vision investigated in this research are significantly higher among farmers who use pesticides than those who do not use pesticides. Cases of pesticide intoxication are not investigated by health workers but results obtained from interviews with them also indicated that cases of pesticides related symptoms are significantly higher in environments where pesticides are used than those in which pesticides are not used.
塞拉利昂农民面临的最大挑战之一是虫害控制。鸟类、啮齿动物、昆虫、甲壳类动物和其他生物会大大降低产量。为了防止这些生物破坏庄稼，农民使用杀虫剂。然而，有报道称这些化学物质被滥用，这种滥用对环境和农民的健康产生了负面影响。这项研究旨在调查杀虫剂在稻田中的使用情况及其对环境和塞拉利昂农民的潜在影响。在全国范围内采访了 500 名农民和 100 名卫生工作者。还完成了 50 次焦点小组讨论。还进行了实地观察，以了解农民如何将农药施用于他们的农场，以及这些方法对人类健康和环境可能构成的威胁。很明显，塞拉利昂的水稻种植者使用了广泛的农药，其中 60%的农药是非法进入该国的。大多数农民对农药的安全处理一无所知，因为其中 71%的人从未接受过任何形式的培训。杀虫剂不仅杀死目标生物，也杀死非目标生物，其中一些生物进入食物链。在这项研究中调查的健康问题，如恶心、呼吸障碍和视力模糊，在使用农药的农民中明显高于不使用农药的农民。中毒病例没有被卫生工作者调查，但从他们的访谈中获得的结果也表明，在使用农药的环境中，与农药有关的症状病例明显高于不使用农药的环境。
