Contaminación ambiental y cambio climático

Abstracto

An Assessment of Pesticides Disposal Practices and Their Adverse Effects on Vegetable Farmers in Keumbu Ward, Kisii County, Kenya

William Masaka Ondieki

The study assessed pesticides disposal practices and their adverse effects on vegetable farmers in Keumbu ward, kisii county, Kenya.. Pesticides in Kenya are extensively used for pest control in agriculture. Kenya’s economy heavily depends on agriculture for the provision of food, employment and creation of wealth. In this regard vegetable production is found to gain great importance which translated to increased pesticide use among vegetable farmers in boosting the production, their usage and unsafe handling practices may potentially result in high farmer exposures and adverse health effects. However over the years, little attention has been paid to the plight of vegetable farmers in terms of; how they handle pesticides and whether they suffer health effects as a result of handling the pesticides. The study sought to evaluate the best practices employed in storage of pesticides and disposal of pesticide containers among vegetable farmers. Kisii being the preferred area of study due to its accessibility and the farmer’s dependence of the scarce land for farming that only allowed them to practice small vegetable farming this has been occasioned by the high population in the area which has led to land fragmentation in order to have every household to be accommodated. The study had employed a descriptive case study research designed. This study was conducted in Kisii county where a total of 270 respondents were from a target population of 821 farmers. This sample size was obtained through simple random selection. Data was collected through personal and face-to-face interview using structured interview schedule, observation and focus group discussion. Simple descriptive statistics and cross tabulation was used in the analysis. The data was analyzed for relationships between the variables and the influence of farmer’s level of education on pesticide use, storage and disposal of pesticides and effects on human health due to pesticide handling for the 270 questionnaires. The study concluded that; Practices of pesticides storage in the study area were inappropriate as majority of the farmers stored them either in their bedroom or in the granary. In was established that tomato farmers suffered overtime adverse effects while handling pesticides that included effects on skin and eyes and general effects like headaches and dizziness. The study’s findings recommended for the need for comprehensive intervention measures to reduce the health and environmental risks of pesticides, including pesticide safety training programs for farmers, stringent enforcement of pesticide laws, and promoting integrated pest management and non-synthetic methods of pest control in Kenya. It is recommended that educational programs be introduced targeting to improve knowledge on proper handling of pesticides among vegetable farmers especially on increasing the literacy levels of farmers.