Pesticide use practice and implications on farmer’s health: the case of Shebedino district, Sidama Region, Ethiopia

The current need to produce marketable vegetables entails increasing pressure to use agricultural pesticides. Shebedino district of Sidama region is known for its agricultural crop production and farmers use agrochemicals, mainly for the control of pests. However, information on pesticide usage practice and human health problems associated with inappropriate applications of pesticides were lacking. The present study, was therefore, aimed to assess the major types of pesticides used in the study area, examine farmer’s attitudes about pesticides, and evaluate the health problems associated with pesticide use in Shebedino district of Sidama region, Ethiopia. A community- based cross-sectional survey was conducted to assess farmers’ pesticide handling practice and associated risks in the study area. Farmers who use pesticides were purposively selected for the interview. The result showed that the extent of pesticide utilization in the study area has been increasing, but farmers’ knowledge on pesticide handling and the risk awareness were very low. The results revealed that none of the interviewed farmers in the district received training on the proper use and storage of pesticides. A total of seventeen different pesticide were used by the farmers, of which mancozeb was the dominant fungicide used by all farmers. Nearly all the farmers apply pesticides through spraying, however, except some head covering and handkerchiefs, farmers/ applicators never use pesticides protective equipment while spraying. Headache (87.65%), skin rash (49.38%) dizziness (48.15%) and blurred vision (43.21%) were among the health problems reported by pesticide users. The finding showed that there is high risk of farmer’s pesticide exposure in the study area, the pesticide residues may accumulate in the food products (vegetables) and cause a wider public health risks. Intervention through awareness creation and training on appropriate pesticide handling measures are required to reduce the potential health and environmental hazards in the district.