TITLE:
Small-Scale Tomato Cultivators’ Perception on Pesticides Usage and Practices in Buea Cameroon
AUTHORS:
Tinyami Erick Tandi, Choi Jae Wook, Tumenta Terence Shendeh, Eko Alain Eko, Chick Ofilia Afoh
KEYWORDS:
Small-Scale Farming, Tomato Cultivation, Pesticides Poisoning, Cameroon
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.6 No.21,
December
24,
2014
ABSTRACT: It has been shown that farmers with limited knowledge of the use and safe handling of pesticides may suffer exposure which results in adverse health effects. In Buea, Cameroon, small-scale tomato farmers commonly use pesticides for pest control. Information was obtained from these tomato farmers to determine the extent and types of their pesticide use, their knowledge of pesticide use and effectiveness, and their perception of potential harm resulting from pesticide use. A standardized questionnaire, interviews, field observations and an analytical ranking game were used to describe the pesticide use of 93 tomato farmers. Many farmers (47.6%) used pyrethiod and organophosphorus insecticides and identified these chemicals as the most effective in pesticide control; these are WHO Class II pesticides which are the most hazardous to humans. Most farmers (83.8%) used knapsack sprayers to apply pesticides, with 76.3% using no or partial personal protective equipment (PPE). It was notable that 55.5% of farmers expressed no concern regarding the wind direction (pesticide drift) during spraying. The results showed a significant association between the method of pesticides application and farm size (P