Mubushar Muhammad, Aldosari Fahad O, Baig Mirza B, Alotaibi Bader M, Khan Abdul Qader
Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Society, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
Saudi J Biol Sci. 2019 Nov;26(7):1903-1910. doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2019.03.001. Epub 2019 Mar 6.
Inappropriate application of pesticides is quite common in the study area, causing health issues and in some cases fatalities. The intent of the current study is to gauge the farmers' level of knowledge on the safe usage of pesticides and biosafety to keep the famers healthy through the focused extension programs.
The study is carried out in 41 union councils of Tehsil Sahiwal, District Sahiwal, Punjab, Pakistan. Data are collected through a cluster sampling technique by conducting face-to-face interviews. Statistical analysis is used to determine relationships and interpret them.
The findings show that the majority of farmers (87.2%) earn their livelihoods from farming and 2.1% are traders. More than half of the respondents (51.8%) own small land-holdings with an area of 4-8 ha, with only 16.4% having a land area of more than 12 ha. The results also reveal that the majority of respondents obtain information from private agents and only about one third (34.4%) respondents get information on the safe usage of pesticides from the Department of Agriculture (Extension). The internet has emerged as a fast and reliable source of information in the new paradigm; however, only 14.4% of the respondents take advantage of this economical and fast information tool/medium. The findings also reveal that the farmers employ unhealthy and poor practices by not following the recommendations regarding the safe usage of pesticides. The study also reveals that more than half of the farmers (54.4%) use unsafe storage practices on their farms, and about 48.2% do not follow the instructions.
Inappropriate application of pesticides can have negative effects on human health and the adoption safety measures are necessary to avoid the harmful effects of pesticides. Due to high illiteracy in the area, farmers mainly seek advice of neighboring farmers, having ignorance on the biosafety issues. Variables like education level, land ownership, total land size and the trainings on safe pesticide usage significantly influence the knowledge level of farmers on the safe usage of pesticides.
Farmers do not follow the recommendations of the extension department or the instructions printed on pesticide bottles/containers, therefore educational (formal and informal) and training programs are necessary on the safe pesticide usage to upgrade their skills and expertise on safe usage of pesticides and the importance of biosafety.
在研究区域，农药的不当使用相当普遍，引发了健康问题，在某些情况下甚至导致死亡。本研究的目的是通过有针对性的推广项目，评估农民对农药安全使用和生物安全的了解程度，以保障农民健康。
该研究在巴基斯坦旁遮普省萨希瓦尔区萨希瓦尔乡的41个联合委员会开展。通过整群抽样技术，进行面对面访谈收集数据。运用统计分析来确定关系并加以解读。
研究结果显示，大多数农民（87.2%）以务农为生，2.1%为商人。超过半数的受访者（51.8%）拥有面积为4 - 8公顷的小块土地，只有16.4%的土地面积超过12公顷。结果还表明，大多数受访者从私人代理商处获取信息，只有约三分之一（34.4%）的受访者从农业部（推广部门）获取农药安全使用的信息。在新的模式下，互联网已成为快速且可靠的信息来源；然而，只有14.4%的受访者利用了这种经济且快速的信息工具/媒介。研究结果还表明，农民不遵循农药安全使用的建议，采用不健康且不当的做法。研究还显示，超过半数的农民（54.4%）在农场采用不安全的储存方式，约48.2%不遵循相关说明。
农药的不当使用会对人类健康产生负面影响，采取安全措施以避免农药的有害影响是必要的。由于该地区文盲率高，农民主要向邻近农民寻求建议，对生物安全问题一无所知。教育水平、土地所有权、土地总面积以及农药安全使用培训等变量显著影响农民对农药安全使用的了解程度。
农民不遵循推广部门的建议或农药瓶/容器上印刷的说明，因此有必要开展关于农药安全使用的教育（正规和非正规）及培训项目，以提升他们在农药安全使用方面的技能和专业知识，以及对生物安全重要性的认识。
