Assessment of knowledge and practice of pistachio farmers in terms of pistachio pesticide safety
Batol Masruri, Tahereh Dehdari, Parveneh Yekzamani, Nargess Moghadasi, Azadeh Ashtarinezhad
Abstract
Modern agricultural activities and more production, endanger the health of farmers, and food safety and may cause environmental pollution. In this study, we aimed to determine the knowledge and practice of Pistachio farmers in Kashmar in field of Pistachio pesticide safety. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 380 pistachio farmers of Kashmar and data were gathered using a researcher-made questionnaire. Finally, all data were analyzed by using Spearman and Pearson tests, Chi-Square and ANOVA tests on SPSS software (version 22.). The mean age of participants was 48.98 ± 14.12. According to the data in the field of safety during spraying, 41.6% of farmers had a low level of knowledge and 58.4% had a moderate level of knowledge. Also, 62.6% of farmers had an average practice level and 37.4% of them had good practice level. Spearman correlation test shows that there is a positive correlation between the level of knowledge and practice of participants (p < 0.001). Most of the farmers have inadequate knowledge about the risks of pesticides and often show high-risk behaviors during application. Training the farmers is highly recommended to increase their knowledge about pesticide safety and reduce the risks of pesticide exposure.