Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Crops and Plants, Ghent University, Coupure 653, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
Institute for Interdisciplinary Research and Consultancy, University for Development Studies, P. O. Box TL 1350, Tamale, Ghana.
Environ Monit Assess. 2019 Apr 25;191(5):307. doi: 10.1007/s10661-019-7449-5.
Over the years, pesticides have become a dominant feature of Ghana's agriculture. In the past, pesticides usage was restricted to the cocoa, cotton, vegetables, and fruits sectors. Today, there is a widespread use of pesticides in the cultivation of yam. Since the introduction of pesticides into yam production, farmers have expressed satisfaction about the relief it has brought them with regard to labor and productivity. However, there has been public concern about the human and environmental health impacts of pesticides. In this study, 100 farmers were interviewed through a structured questionnaire to determine their knowledge, awareness, and use practices of pesticides and to determine their level of exposure. The study revealed that the common pesticides currently being used for yam production are herbicides. Although the farmers are aware of the risks associated with the use of pesticides, they use more than the recommended doses and do not pay attention to the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) thereby predisposing themselves to the potential health effects of pesticides. A significant percentage (20 to 40%) of the farmers reported to have never used these PPEs and over 44% of them use glyphosate above the recommended dose (between 1.5 and 2 L/ha). This resulted in an average farmer exposure to glyphosate of 4.2 mg/kgBW/day, well above the acute reference dose (ARfD) of 0.5 mg/kgBW/day. The government should develop and implement programs to train pesticides dealers, educate farmers, enforce the laws on pesticides, and support farmers to uphold protective measures.
多年来，杀虫剂已成为加纳农业的主要特征。过去，杀虫剂的使用仅限于可可、棉花、蔬菜和水果等领域。如今，在山药种植中广泛使用杀虫剂。自从将杀虫剂引入山药生产以来，农民对其在劳动力和生产力方面带来的缓解表示满意。然而，人们一直对杀虫剂对人类和环境健康的影响表示关注。在这项研究中，通过结构化问卷采访了 100 名农民，以确定他们对杀虫剂的知识、意识和使用情况，并确定他们的接触水平。研究表明，目前用于山药生产的常见杀虫剂是除草剂。尽管农民意识到使用杀虫剂带来的风险，但他们使用的剂量超过了推荐剂量，并且不注意使用个人防护设备 (PPE)，从而使自己容易受到杀虫剂潜在健康影响的影响。相当一部分（20%至 40%）的农民报告从未使用过这些 PPE，超过 44%的人使用的草甘膦超过推荐剂量（1.5 至 2 升/公顷）。这导致农民平均每天接触草甘膦的量为 4.2 毫克/公斤体重/天，远高于 0.5 毫克/公斤体重/天的急性参考剂量 (ARfD)。政府应制定和实施培训农药经销商、教育农民、执行农药法和支持农民采取保护措施的方案。
