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An assessment of the impacts of pesticide use on the environment and health of rice farmers in Sierra Leone
- Source :
- Environment International, Vol 94, Iss, Pp 458-466 (2016)
- Publication Year :
- 2016
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2016.
-
Abstract
- One of the biggest challenges faced by Sierra Leonean farmers is pest control. Birds, rodents, insects, crustaceans and other organisms can drastically reduce yields. In order to prevent these organisms from destroying their crop, farmers use pesticides. However there are reports that these chemicals are being misused and such misuse is having a negative impact on the environment and the health of the farmers.This research study aimed to investigate the use of pesticides in rice fields and its potential effects on the environment and on the farmers of Sierra Leone. Five hundred farmers and one hundred health workers across the country were interviewed. Fifty focus group discussions were also completed. Field observations were also undertaken to see how farmers apply pesticides to their farms and the possible threats these methods have on human health and the environment. It is clear that a wide range of pesticides are used by rice farmers in Sierra Leone with 60% of the pesticides used entering the country illegally. Most farmers have no knowledge about the safe handling of pesticides as 71% of them have never received any form of training. The pesticides kill both target and non-target organisms some of which enter the food chain.Cases of health problems such as nausea, respiratory disorders and blurred vision investigated in this research are significantly higher among farmers who use pesticides than those who do not use pesticides. Cases of pesticide intoxication are not investigated by health workers but results obtained from interviews with them also indicated that cases of pesticides related symptoms are significantly higher in environments where pesticides are used than those in which pesticides are not used. Keywords: Pesticides, Environment, Health
- Subjects :
- 0301 basic medicine
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
010501 environmental sciences
01 natural sciences
Sierra Leone
Sierra leone
Crop
03 medical and health sciences
Food chain
immune system diseases
Environmental protection
Occupational Exposure
Environmental health
Humans
Environmental impact assessment
Pesticides
lcsh:Environmental sciences
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
General Environmental Science
lcsh:GE1-350
Farmers
business.industry
fungi
Pest control
food and beverages
Agriculture
Oryza
Pesticide
Focus group
respiratory tract diseases
030104 developmental biology
Geography
business
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 01604120
- Volume :
- 94
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Environment International
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....2905fd83ca9c4104d8004eb3cf09b7fb