Determinants of the effects of pesticide use on the health of rice farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study determined the main factors responsible for the effects of pesticide use on the health of rice farmers in Kwara State. Multistage sampling  procedure was used to select 120 rice farmers. Data were collected via the use of questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression model. Findings showed that, the rice farmers’ average age was 38 years, most were male (87.5%) and married (74.2%) with an average family size of 10 persons. Majority (85%) of the rice farmers used pesticide frequently on their farms while 72% had been trained on pesticide application in the study area. The major health challenges faced by the rice farmers as a result of pesticide use on their farms were skin irritation, eye irritation, breathing difficulty, headache, food and water poisoning and dizziness. Pesticide dosage, farm size, weather, reading and adherence to instructions on pesticide labels, wearing of boot, nose guard, hand gloves and full PPE were the significant factors  determining the effects of pesticide use on the health of the rice farmers in the study area. It is therefore recommended that; rice farmers should be trained regularly on the importance of the use of full personal protective equipment (PPEs) during spraying to reduce their level of exposure to pesticide during application in the study area.

Keywords: Pesticides application, health hazards, rice production, personal protective equipment