Protective behavior in chemical spraying among farmers of northern Iran

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作   者：

Abolmohammad Bondori;  Asghar Bagheri;  Christos A. Damalas; 

作者机构：

Orestiada;  Ardabil;  Greece;  Democritus University of Thrace;  Iran;  Department of Water Engineering and Agricultural Management;  Faculty of Agricultural Sciencesand Natural Resources;  Department of Agricultural Development;  University of Mohaghegh Ardabili; 

关键词：

Attitude;  Practice;  Risk perception;  Knowledge;  Pesticide toxicity; 

期刊名称：

Environment, development and sustainability

i s s n：

1387-585X

年卷期：

2024 年 26 卷 7 期

页   码：

17673-17685

页   码：

摘   要：

Understanding farmers’ protective behavior in the use of pesticides as well as inter-relatedfactors affecting behavior is essential for improving safety in farming. The purpose of thiswork was to evaluate the levels of personal protection of farmers during pesticide handling,along with knowledge and perception of risks by pesticides, frequency of poisoning experience,use of information, and their effects on safety behavior in rural Iran. Forty-six percent(46.0%) of the farmers reported totally unsafe behavior in pesticide handling, with poor useof protective gear, and 20.0% reported potentially unsafe behavior, with only occasional useof protective gear. Training in pesticide use and integrated pest management (IPM) educationpromoted the use of protective gear. Almost half of the farmers (49.4%) reported somekind of pesticide poisoning experience, with dizziness being the most common symptom.On a five point scale (1–5), farmers had low knowledge of pesticide risk (mean = 2.75) andmoderate perception of pesticide risk (mean = 3.26). Similarly, the use of information waslow (mean = 2.10), with pesticide retailers being the most popular source of farmers’ information.Structural equation modeling showed that risk knowledge was positively associatedwith risk perception. These two variables along with poisoning experience and use ofinformation described 85% of the variability in farmers’ use of protective gear, highlightingthe inter-connection of those variables and their crucial role in the protective behavior offarmers during chemical spraying. In conclusion, improving farmers’ knowledge of pesticiderisk through better information is crucial for promoting farmers’ protective behavior inpesticide use.