Pesticide Use, Perceived Health Risks and Management in Ethiopia and in Hungary: A Comparative Analysis

Roba Argaw Tessema, Károly Nagy and Balázs Ádám
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Roba Argaw Tessema: Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4000 Debrecen, Hungary
Károly Nagy: Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4000 Debrecen, Hungary
Balázs Ádám: Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4000 Debrecen, Hungary

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 19, 1-14

Abstract: Pesticides play a very important role for ensuring food security and economic growth but their use can cause harmful effects to human health and to the environment. The study aimed to investigate the level of knowledge, health risk perceptions, and experiences on the practice of pesticide use and management among extension officers in Ethiopia and plant doctors in Hungary. A questionnaire survey among 326 officers was conducted in the two study areas and data were analyzed by ordinal logistic regression. According to the findings, Hungarian officers had much better knowledge of pesticide products (92%), and less frequently experienced pesticide poisoning among applicators (7%) than the Ethiopians (66% and 41%, respectively). Hungarian officers perceived less health risk of pesticide use (AOR = 0.46, 95%, Cl: 0.27–0.80), were ten times more likely to deem the pesticide management system effective (AOR = 10.23, 95%, Cl: 5.68–18.46) and were nine times more likely to report that applicators used personal protective equipment (AOR = 8.95, 95%, Cl: 4.94–16.28). A significant proportion of officers from both countries reported inappropriate methods of pesticide residue disposal. These observations point out that the situation of pesticide use and knowledge and management of pesticide products is definitely better in Hungary; nevertheless, the issue continues to need more attention in both settings.

Keywords: pesticide; exposure; knowledge; risk perception; risk management; extension officer; plant doctor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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