Pesticide use and practice of local farmers in the Central Rift Valley (CRV) of Ethiopia: implications for the environment and health hazards

In this study, pesticide practices and related environmental and health effects were investigated in the Central Rift Valley (CRV) of Ethiopia through a farmers’ survey. Questionnaires were distributed to 422 local farmers in the Arsi-Negele, Meki and Ziway areas. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to evaluate the results of the questionnaire and to identify risk factors associated with environmental and health effects after spraying. The majority of the farmers (44.4–55.0%) stored their pesticides in the kitchen or anywhere in the house, while only 6.5–32.0% of the farmers stored them in a separate place outside the house. A large majority of the farmers (63%) did not use personal protective equipment during pesticide spraying and handling, which was negatively associated with understanding pesticide instructions of the pesticide labels, OR: 0.9; (95% CI:0.82–0.98) in the supervised stepwise backwards selection model. Reading the instructions of the pesticide labels was positively associated with understanding instructions OR: 1.59 (95% CI: 1.0–2.54). The risk for water pollution was higher in the Meki region OR: 1.26 (95% CI: 1.14–1.4) compared to Ziway and Arsi-Negele. Most farmers (66%) experienced discomfort after pesticide spraying and Illnesses from pesticide spraying were more frequently reported by educated farmers. Therefore, proper training in pesticide use in this region could strongly reduce the health risk associated with pesticide exposure.