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Cited by 271Pesticide Exposure and ToxicityAgriculture and Farm SafetyAgricultural safety and regulations

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Farmers' knowledge, practices and injuries associated with pesticide exposure in rural farming villages in Tanzania

Open access
Lekei, Elikana E, Ngowi, Aiwerasia V, London, Leslie·2014·BMC Public Health
DOI 10.1186/1471-2458-14-389PMC PMC3999359
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Pesticides in Tanzania are extensively used for pest control in agriculture. Their usage and unsafe handling practices may potentially result in high farmer exposures and adverse health effects.The aim of this study was to describe farmers' pesticide exposure profile, knowledge about pesticide hazards, experience of previous poisoning, hazardous practices that may lead to Acute Pesticide Poisoning (APP) and the extent to which APP is reported. METHODS: The study involved 121 head- of-household respondents from Arumeru district in Arusha region. Data collection involved administration of a standardised questionnaire to farmers and documentation of storage practices. Unsafe pesticide handling practices were assessed through observation of pesticide storage, conditions of personal protective equipment (PPE) and through self-reports of pesticide disposal and equipment calibration. RESULTS: Past lifetime pesticide poisoning was reported by 93% of farmers. The agents reported as responsible for poisoning were Organophosphates (42%) and WHO Class II agents (77.6%).Storage of pesticides in the home was reported by 79% of farmers. Respondents with higher education levels were significantly less likely to store pesticides in their home (PRR High/Low = 0.3; 95% CI = 0.1-0.7) and more likely to practice calibration of spray equipment (PRR High/Low = 1.2; 95% CI = 1.03-1.4). However, knowledge of routes of exposure was not associated with safety practices particularly for disposal, equipment wash area, storage and use of PPE . The majority of farmers experiencing APP in the past (79%) did not attend hospital and of the 23 farmers who did so in the preceding year, records could be traced for only 22% of these cases. CONCLUSIONS: The study found a high potential for pesticide exposure in the selected community in rural Tanzania, a high frequency of self-reported APP and poor recording in hospital records. Farmers' knowledge levels appeared to be unrelated to their risk. Rather than simply focusing on knowledge-based strategies, comprehensive interventions are needed to reduce both exposure and health risks, including training, improvements in labeling, measures to reduce cost barriers to the adoption of safe behaviours, , promotion of control measures other than PPE and support for Integrated Pest Management (IPM).

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Crossref · 10.1186/1471-2458-14-389

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  • Producers and agricultural workers can be routinely exposed to high levels of pesticides, at usually a much greater rate than consumers.

    “Producers and agricultural workers can be routinely exposed to high levels of pesticides, at usually a much greater rate than consumers (Praneetvatakul et al., 2013;Lekei et al., 2014;Gangemi et al., 2016).”

    From Assessing Transitions to Sustainable Agricultural and Food Systems: A Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation (TAPE) (2020) · cites this paper as Lekei et al., 2014

    The Conclusions and Discussion report a high potential for pesticide exposure among farmers in the selected rural Tanzanian community, including through occupational practices. The paper does not compare farmers’ exposure levels with consumers’ or establish that farmers are usually exposed at a much greater rate. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Research works printed but not linked: 17

  1. Lekei EE, Ak'habuhaya JA, Mkalanga H: Survey of pesticides formulation plants in Tanzania, Occupational and environmental health perspectives. Afr newslett occup health and safety. 2007, 17: 50-53.
  2. Akhabuhaya J: Needs for pesticide safety outreach programmes in developing countries: a Tanzania example. Afr Newslett Occup Health and Safety. 2005, 15: 68-70.
  3. Ngowi AVF: Health Impacts of Pesticides in Agriculture in Tanzania. 2002, Tampere, Finland: Tampere University press, PhD Thesis
  4. Sekiyama M, Tanaka M, Gunawan B, Abdoellah O, Watanabe C: Pesticide usage and its association with health symptoms among farmers in rural villages in West Java, Indonesia. Environ Sci. 2007, 14: 23-33.
  5. Lekei EE, Uronu AB, Mununa FT: Pesticides labels and risk reduction in developing countries. Afr newslett occup Health and safety. 2004, 14 (3): 57-60.
  6. Sodavy P, Sitha M, Nugent R, Murphy H: Situation Analysis: Farmers’ Awareness and Perceptions of the Effect of Pesticides on their Health. Field Document. 2000, Cambodia: FAO Community IPM Program
  7. SPSS Inc: Released. 2007, Chicago, . SPSS for Windows, Version 16.0
  8. UNEP. Risk profile on Endosulfan: Report Adopted by the Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee at its Fifth Meeting (UNEP/POPS/POPRC.5/10/Add.2). 2009, Geneva: United Nations Environmental Program
  9. Schoeman JJ: Identification, Evaluation and Control Principles. Occupational Hygiene. Edited by: Schoeman JJ, Schröder HHE. 1994, Cape Town: Juta & Co, 7-15. 2
  10. Gerken A, Suglo J, Braun M: Pesticides Use and Policies in Ghana. An Economic and Institutional Analysis of Current Practice and Factors Influencing Pesticide Use. 2001, Hanover: A Publication of the Pesticide Policy Project. Publication Series, Hanover University
  11. UNEP: Risk Management Evaluation Endosulfan. 2010, Geneva
  12. Makalle M: Post harvest storage as a rural household food security strategy in Tanzania. ARPN Journal of Science and Technology. 2012, 12 (9): 814-821.
  13. Rees D: Does milk supplementation prevent occupational illness?. Natl Saf J. 2002, 62: 5-
  14. Goring D: Health effects of exposure to spices in a spice packing factory. Occupational Health Southern Africa. 2003, 9 (2): 19-23.
  15. Ngowi AVF, Maeda DN, Partanen TJ: Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) among agricultural extension workers on reduction of adverse impacts of pesticides in agricultural areas in Tanzania. Med Lav. 2002, 93 (4): 338-346.
  16. Berhanu B: Assessment of workers’ knowledge of chemical safety symbols. Case study in Ethiopia. Afr Newslett Occup Health and Safety. 1993, 3: 22-23.
  17. Baloyi RS: Study on the Comprehensibility of Chemical Safety Information in Five Southern African Countries. 1997, Harare: Report, Occupational Health and Safety Branch, International Labour Office

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Metadata

Authors
Lekei, E. E., Ngowi, A. V., & London, L.
Affiliations
  • Tropical Pesticides Research Institute (TZ)
  • Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (TZ)
Corresponding author
Lekei, Elikana E
ORCID
Venue
BMC Public Health
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2014-04-23
Volume
14
Issue
1
Pages
389-389
ISSN
1471-2458 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/1471-2458-14-389
PMC
PMC3999359
OpenAlex
W2056506042
Cited by
271
References
37
Citations by year
2026: 16 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 25 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 41 · 2020: 34 · 2019: 28 · 2018: 22 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 3
FWCI
14.81
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • BMC Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Open University of Cape Town (University of Cape Town) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • Styrelsen för Internationellt Utvecklingssamarbete
  • National Research Foundation
  • National Institutes of Health
  • Fogarty International Center (R21TW006515)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Toxicology › Pesticide Exposure and Toxicity
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Agriculture and Farm Safety
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Agricultural safety and regulations
Keywords
pesticide exposure, acute pesticide poisoning, farmers, pesticide safety knowledge, pesticide storage, personal protective equipment, organophosphates, pesticide disposal, integrated pest management, Tanzania
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Agriculture, Educational Status, Female, Humans, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Male, Middle Aged, Occupational Diseases, Pesticides, Organophosphates, Protective Devices, Surveys and Questionnaires, Risk, Rural Population, Safety, Tanzania, Prevalence, Occupational Exposure, Young Adult, Self Report, Organophosphate Poisoning

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