Vegetable Farmer’s Awareness and Perception of Pesticides on the Environment and Health in Eastern Sri Lanka

Asian Journal of Research in Agriculture and Forestry ◽

10.9734/ajraf/2019/v3i330041 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Ponniah Sivarajah

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Pest Control ◽

Cultural Control ◽

Alternative Methods ◽

Vegetable Production ◽

Control Methods ◽

Chi Square ◽

Vegetable Farmers ◽

The Impact ◽

Impact Of Pesticides

In Sri Lanka excessive use of pesticides in paddy and vegetable farming has caused much concern in terms of its impact on the environment and humans. A study was done in Eastern Sri Lanka to find out vegetable farmer’s awareness of hazard levels of pesticides, perception of pesticide impact on the environment and their health, and awareness about different methods of pest control among farmers. A multi-staged random sample of 96 vegetable farmers in five Agrarian Service Center ranges in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka was studied, during October to November 2017, using a structured questionnaire. Frequencies estimation and Chi Square tests were done to find relationships. The results indicated that the degree of awareness on the hazardous levels of pesticides was minimal, but their perceptions on the impacts of the pesticides on the environment, humans, animals and on food items sold was high among the vegetable farmers. There was a significant spatial variation in knowledge on hazardous level of pesticides used in vegetable production. Significant differences existed between areas studied on the perception of farmers of the impact of pesticides on humans, animals, food and environment. Most of the farmers were aware about crop rotation, chemical control and manual control methods to get rid of pests. Only a low percentage of farmers were aware about biological control, cultural control and seed treatment to curtail pest attack. There were significant spatial differences in farmers’ awareness on available pest control methods. Policy makers and institutions intervening to regulate pesticides usage need to adopt multiple strategies to create awareness on the impact of pesticides on humans and the environment, through designing policies to enhance farm extension services and to encourage adoption of alternative methods of pest control.

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Attitude of Vegetable Farmers in Galle District in Sri Lanka Towards Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)

Contemporary Agriculture ◽

10.2478/contagri-2021-0010 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 70 (1-2) ◽

pp. 54-66

Author(s):

S. H. P. Malkanthi ◽

A.M. Thenuwara ◽

W A R N Weerasinghe

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Agricultural Practices ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Simple Random Sampling ◽

Vegetable Production ◽

Limited Information ◽

Chi Square ◽

Good Agricultural Practices ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Vegetable Farmers

Summary Vegetable farmers are facing a number of challenges including price fluctuations, production and marketing problems, low level of income etc. One strategy to overcome these problems is adoption of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) in vegetable production. However, there is limited information regarding farmers’ awareness of GAP and its applications under the circumstances of farming in the country. Therefore, assessing farmers’ attitude is a timely requirement for directing farmers towards good agricultural practices. Thus, the objectives of the research were to assess the level of awareness of GAP program, relationship between socio-economic factors and awareness of GAP, farmers’ attitudes towards GAP program, factors affecting the willingness to adopt GAP program and the potentials and constraints in implementing GAP program in Galle District. A sample of 100 vegetable farmers in the district was selected through a multi-stage simple random sampling technique. Data were collected from March to July 2018, through a self-administered questionnaire survey and analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square test. The results revealed that the majority of vegetable farmers in the district were middle-aged males who had studied up to GCE ordinary level and they received a monthly income of 24000 LKR. Their age, gender, educational level and experience were significantly associated with the level of awareness of GAP program. However, despite their positive attitude towards GAP, most farmers were unwilling to take a risk to adopt GAP due to many issues such as lack of required inputs, capital, required field conditions, information and technical know-how. There are several potentials and also many constraints for implementing GAP in the district. Therefore, providing firstly better theoretical knowledge and then providing the main requirements will motivate more farmers to adopt GAP in their vegetable production procedures. Research studies related to application of GAP by Sri Lankan farmers are still at a lower level. This research thus will be useful for different stakeholders related to adoption of GAP in Sri Lanka.

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CONTROLLING SUFETULA SPP.: A COCONUT INSECT PEST ON PEAT SOILS

Experimental Agriculture ◽

10.1017/s0014479707005017 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 43 (3) ◽

pp. 289-299 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

X. BONNEAU ◽

M. HUSNI ◽

L. BEAUDOIN-OLLIVIER ◽

JOKO SUSILO

Keyword(s):

Insect Pest ◽

Bare Soil ◽

Cultural Control ◽

Control Measures ◽

Control Methods ◽

Peat Soils ◽

Depressive Effect ◽

Moss Cover ◽

Adult Insect ◽

The Impact

We demonstrated experimentally that Sufetula, a root-mining insect, has a depressive effect on coconut yields on peat soils. The impact of the pest resulted in a shortfall in earnings that warranted taking control measures. We considered control methods suitable for rehabilitating infested mature coconut plantings and for preserving young coconut plantings. Currently, cultural control is the only effective method. It involves eliminating all identified shelters for the adult insect, i.e. fern cover and heaps of coconut waste (dry fronds and husks). The aim is to achieve totally bare soil, with moss cover that does not attract the pest, or planted with an unattractive intercrop such as pineapple.

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The impact of cooperative participation on income: the case of vegetable production in Vietnam

Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies ◽

10.1108/jadee-05-2021-0108 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Giang Thi Huong Tran ◽

Teruaki Nanseki ◽

Yosuke Chomei ◽

Ly Thi Nguyen

Keyword(s):

Selection Bias ◽

Household Head ◽

Primary Data ◽

Agricultural Cooperatives ◽

Vegetable Production ◽

Service Access ◽

Content Type ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Vegetable Farmers ◽

The Impact

PurposeThe demand for clean vegetables has rapidly increased, many farmers gradually turn to vegetable cultivation to increase income; therefore, agricultural cooperative mobilized farmers group to facilitate them access to technical training and enhance compliance with the Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP) standards. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impacts of the participation on farmer’s income as well as the major factors that affect the participation in cooperatives by the vegetable farmers in Vietnam.Design/methodology/approachThe study used primary data collected from vegetable farmers in Vietnam. This study utilized propensity score matching to avoid initial selection bias. The differences between participants and nonparticipants will be adjusted by matching each membership individual to a nonmember based on similar observable characteristics by summarizing the conditional probability of a member given pretreatment characteristics.FindingsThis study demonstrates that participation in cooperatives is significantly affected by ethnicity, age of household head, labor involving vegetable production and extension service access. The results of this study also confirm that agricultural cooperatives have positive effects on member farmers to enhance income and that participants – on average – have a higher income than nonparticipants.Research limitations/implicationsThe method cannot rule out the possibility of selection bias due to unobserved differences between participants and even an appropriate comparison group.Originality/valueThis study contributes to an improved understanding about impacts of cooperatives on farmers’ income in developing and emerging economies. Moreover, research also upgrades knowledge regarding the effectiveness of agricultural cooperatives in Vietnam, as well as guides policymakers in supporting the cooperatives in expanding the market and other necessary changes.

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The impact of gender on students’ choice in selecting a Bachelor’s degree from an International degree programmes offered in Sri Lanka: A Case study

10.31219/osf.io/v2hpm ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Koralai Arachchige Vidyanjalie Abeygunawardena

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Sri Lanka ◽

Bachelor's Degree ◽

Male Students ◽

Positive Trend ◽

Chi Square ◽

Advanced Level ◽

The Subject ◽

The Impact ◽

Decision Making Criteria

As the National university intake in Sri Lanka has become progressively competitive over the years, the International Degree Programmes (IDPs) of top-ranked foreign universities emerged in the domestic market to cater to the rising demand for university-level education. Alternatively, those IDPs are mostly offered with higher optionality and flexibility to attract potential students to increase the student enrollment. Thereby, the study mainly discusses the variation of the popularity of the IDPs offered in Sri Lanka within the period from 2011 to 2014. However, the study aims to identify how students select a Bachelor’s degree from IDP based on the subject stream completed for their advanced level and further to identify any significant differences in the decision making criteria gender-wise. Therefore, 694 students (120 in the year 2011, 145 in the year 2012, 187 in the year 2013, 242 in the year 2014) selected from Economics, Management and Social science related Bachelor’s degrees in an IDP and data collected by official documents of the private higher educational institute. The Chi-square test of association was conducted gender-wise to identify the relationship between the subject stream followed for advanced level and the Bachelor’s degree selected. Later, the significant differences have compared within the period from 2011 to 2014. Based on the results, male students show a positive trend in using the optionality when selecting a Bachelor’s Degree from IDP and it is independent of the subject stream completed in advanced level. Alternatively, the decision-making criteria of female students showed differences contrary to male students. Hence the behaviour of students’ needs to be researched and verified in current years to identify significant influences of gender on the decision making process in selecting a Bachelor’s degree from IDPs

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Farmer Perceptions on Vegetable Diseases and Their Control in Sub-Humid Areas in Zimbabwe

Change and Adaptation in Socio-Ecological Systems ◽

10.1515/cass-2019-0001 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Maria Goss ◽

Paramu. L. Mafongoya ◽

Augustine Gubba ◽

Obert Jiri

Keyword(s):

Disease Management ◽

Production Systems ◽

Disease Incidence ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Disease Outbreaks ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Cultural Control ◽

Bacterial Disease ◽

Vegetable Production ◽

Control Methods

Abstract The monoculture vegetable production systems practiced by Zimbabwean farmers has resulted in major disease outbreaks, causing major production constraints. There is need to determine the intensity of pesticides usage and methods of alternative disease management strategies. This study was carried out using 250 randomly selected vegetable farmers by administering questionnaires. The study objectives were to determine farmers’ perceptions on vegetable disease incidence and severity in relation to prevailing weather conditions, and determine common control methods practiced to manage fungal and bacterial disease outbreaks. The results indicated significant increases in fungal and bacterial disease incidence of 84.6% (within community cropping fields) and severity of 73.1% (within individual farmer fields) over the past 5-10 years (P £ 0.05). It also revealed disease incidence being highest [30.8%] during winter (May – July) and rainy months [23.1%] (November – February). Results further indicated 96.2% of the respondents relied on chemical methods, 53.8% used cultural control, and 11.5% used natural control methods. However, none of the farmers used bio-pesticide/biological control methods. In conclusion: farmers are aware of the disease shifts in response to different climate variability but seem unaware of the negative effects of extensive chemical use, nor existence of alternative bio-pesticide/biological disease management strategies.

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Effect of socio-economic characteristics of greenhouse farmers on vegetable production in Ogun state, Nigeria

Sustainability Agri Food and Environmental Research ◽

10.7770/safer-v0n0-art1593 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Waisu Oyediran ◽

Ayodeji Motunrayo Omoare ◽

Adelayo Adefunke Shobowale ◽

Adebisi O Onabajo

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Formal Education ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Economic Importance ◽

Vegetable Production ◽

Chi Square ◽

Ogun State ◽

Vegetable Farmers ◽

Greenhouse Vegetable ◽

Chi Square Analysis

In Nigeria, vegetable production is adversely affected by climate change, pest and diseases attack and unfavourably environmental condition which have made resourceful farmers and government to embark on vegetable production under greenhouse technology. Hence, this study was conducted to assess socio-economic importance of greenhouse technology for sustainable vegetable production in Ogun State, Nigeria. One hundred and twenty (120) vegetable farmers were purposively selected for this study while descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis were used for the data analysis. The results showed that the respondents were 32 – 40 years of age; predominantly male (90.8%), and had formal education (28.3%). Socio-economic importance of greenhouse technology includes increased yield (94.3%), available supplies all the year round (85.7%), cluster marketing formation (72.9%), higher income generation (75.7%), and rural development (91.4%). Paradoxically, greenhouse vegetable production has not been widely spread due to difficult to establish it by individuals and high cost of construction (98.3%); it is too expensive for the low peasant vegetable farmers (86.7%); and awareness of greenhouse vegetable is low in the public markets (85.8%). So also, chi-square results showed that significant relationship existed between the major limitations and socio-economic importance of greenhouse technology at p < 0.05 level of significance. This study recommends that cost of raw materials for constructing greenhouse should be subsidized by the Federal Government of Nigeria while wealthy individuals, farmers’ groups and cooperative societies should invest in greenhouse technology for large scale vegetable farming.Keywords: socio-economic, importance, vegetable, greenhouse, technology

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Handling Pattern of Pesticides in Vegetables: A Case Study of Bhaktapur

Journal of Science and Engineering ◽

10.3126/jsce.v6i0.23963 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. 29-39

Author(s):

Naba Raj Budhathoki ◽

Pushpa Raj Acharya ◽

Dhruva Karki

Keyword(s):

Research Work ◽

Educational Interventions ◽

Primary Data ◽

Vegetable Production ◽

Chi Square ◽

Frequency Distributions ◽

Vegetable Farmers ◽

Handling Practices ◽

Data Frequency ◽

Vegetable Farm

This research work explores handling practices of pesticides used in vegetables on the part of farmers in Bhaktapur. Specifically, it attempts to investigate the contribution of pesticides applicators to overall mishandling of pesticides. Data for this work were collected in 2018 from four locations of Bhaktapur. Primary data were collected from 123 vegetable farmers and direct observation of 42 vegetable farms based in the selected zones using questionnaire. Discussions with experts and pilot study with farmers were conducted to improve the questionnaire and provide factual data. Frequency distributions, Means, Chi-square tests were utilised for data analysis. The results of the study show that vegetable farmers were applying pesticides, without caring much about the others, in vegetable production. They frequently depended upon local sellers and neighbours to choose the best pesticide to apply. On average, pesticide handling practices at any point seemed inappropriate. Factors that influence farmers' handling practices include education, training and practical consciousness. The study indicated that vegetable farm women have higher level of exposure of pesticide risking a long term health impacts. The results of the study underscore the need of educational interventions for promoting safety during each step of pesticide handling and the responsibility of the farmers towards the society.

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A documentation of plants used by rural small-scale farmers to control maize pests in the eastern cape province of South Africa

African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development ◽

10.18697/ajfand.97.18520 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (02) ◽

pp. 17643-17655

Author(s):

NL Skenjana ◽

◽

AJ Afolayan ◽

◽

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Pest Control ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Alternative Methods ◽

Small Scale ◽

Control Methods ◽

Eastern Cape Province ◽

Eastern Cape ◽

Small Scale Farmers ◽

Pest Control Methods

Maize(Zea mays L.)small-scale farmers in the rural areas of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa are generally under-resourced, and as a result, their crops are vulnerable to pest attacks. The farmers often cannot afford farming implements and inputs, and tend to improvise with what is freely available in their surroundings. Regarding pests, farmers tend not to follow the conventional use of chemical insecticides and rather use alternative methods of control such as plant-based methods. Plant-based methods that are founded on formulations and plant combinations have been found to be eroding due to lack of documentation. This study sought to document the names of plants used in combinations and formulations and their preparation methods so that they can be further used to set a research agenda specific to affordable pest control methods for the Province. Surveys using the convenience and stratified purposive sampling techniques were conducted in selected rural areas of the Eastern Cape Province in order to investigate the plants, their combinations and formulations used by these farmers to control insect pests of maize. A total of 217 farmers were interviewed. Study protocols adhered to ethical standards set by the EasternCape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, whereas percentages were calculated using Microsoft Excel (2010). Findings revealed that most of the plants used were from familiesSolanaceaeandAsteraceae. The most preferred plant was Chenopodiumambrosioides, a perennial herb from the family Chenopodiceae. Although, several arthropods were mentioned by farmers as pests of maize in their cultivation areas, the predominant targets of formulations and combinations were maize stalk borers. These insects were also cited as most troublesome. The common plant part used in combinations and formulations was the leaves. Thefindingsraisedtheneed for continuous scientific validation and documentation of indigenous pest control methods to bridge the generational gap and increase the range of their use.

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Examining the impact of video-based outpatient education on patient demand for a rheumatology CNS service

British Journal of Nursing ◽

10.12968/bjon.2021.30.18.1056 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 30 (18) ◽

pp. 1056-1064

Author(s):

Louise Murphy ◽

Stephen Moore ◽

Joan Swan ◽

Davida Hehir ◽

John Ryan

Keyword(s):

Exposed Group ◽

Video Data ◽

Outpatient Department ◽

Alternative Methods ◽

Chi Square ◽

Rheumatology Clinic ◽

Demand For Education ◽

Clinical Nurse Specialists ◽

The Impact ◽

Rheumatology Outpatient

Background: Patient demand for education and access to the clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) during the rheumatology clinic at one hospital in Ireland was increasing. Alternative methods of providing patient education had to be examined. Aims: To explore the efficacy of video-based outpatient education, and its impact on demand for the CNSs. Methods: A video was produced to play in a rheumatology outpatient department. A representative sample of 240 patients (120 non-exposed and 120 exposed to the video) attending the clinic was selected to complete a questionnaire exploring the effect of the video. Data were analysed using chi-square tests with Yates' continuity correction. Findings: Demand for the CNSs was six times higher in the non-exposed group compared with the exposed group (non-exposed: 25%, exposed: 4.8%) (χ2=15.7, P=0.00007), representing a significant decrease in resource demand. Conclusion: High-quality educational videos on view in the rheumatology outpatient department provide patients with information sufficient to meet their educational needs, thus releasing CNS resources.

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