Determinants of Risk Perception Regarding Pesticide Use among Farmers in Nongchang District, Uthaithani Province

Abstract

This study aimed to clarify the key communication factors that influenced the risk perception on pesticide use and practice among farmers. By using the survey questionnaires, a cross-sectional study was to initially identify the levels of risk perception and factors influencing perception among 114 randomly selected farmers from 371 households in Nong Suang subdistrict, Nong Chang district, Uthaithani province. It was
found that 90.4% learned how to use pesticides by themselves as well as the pesticides venders nearby farmers’ houses as the key informants and consultants with the rate of 88.6% and 81.6%, respectively. Of total, about 64.9% were aware of the adverse health effects of pesticide used
and regarding pesticide practices section, about 63.1% showed their understanding of how to protect themselves during pesticide application.  Although most respondents (90.4%) pointed out that they always read the label before using, they may not really understand the information on a label. By their answers, farmers know that they need to wear protective clothing so as to prevent exposure to the harmful chemicals. However,
due to lack of understanding of what such protection entails, they wore everyday clothing such as, t-shirts, hats, cloth and yarn based apparel as a protective cloth. To improve the risk communication approaches of government agencies responsible for pesticide uses and practices, local pesticides venders should be one of the stakeholders.