Determinants of Pesticide Safety Adherence among Tomato Farmers in Kenya: Individual and Structural Factors for Sustainable Agriculture

Background: Hazardous pesticide practices among tomato farmers in Kirinyaga County, Kenya, pose significant risks to public health, environmental sustainability, and food safety. This study investigated whether these unsafe practices stem from farmers’ ignorance to pesticide safety or systemic barriers. The study assessed the influence of knowledge and awareness, culture and social norms, cost and accessibility, regulatory control and demographic factors on safety adherence among tomato farmers in Kenya using the Health Belief Model as a framework for the study. Methods: The study was conducted within four regions in Kirinyaga County, Kenya. Data was collected from 384 tomato farmers using structured questionnaires which was organized in a Likert scale. Analysis was done using descriptive and inferential statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics, Version 30.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) and R software, Version 4.3.3 (R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria). Results: The findings identify farmers as key actors in implementing safety measures. However, structural barriers, including the high cost of personal protective equipment, weak regulatory enforcement, and limited safety training opportunities, significantly hinder compliance. Older farmers exhibited lower compliance rates, while those with higher education and awareness demonstrated better adherence to safety practices. Conclusions: Enhancing farmers’ safety compliance requires empowering farmers through targeted education and addressing structural barriers by subsidizing PPE, enforcing stringent regulatory frameworks, and introducing culturally relevant safety interventions. These findings offer actionable recommendations for improving agricultural safety in Kenya and provide a roadmap for addressing similar challenges in other regions.