VEGETABLE FARMERS' PERCEPTION OF SAFETY PRACTICES IN PESTICIDES USE IN GIWA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Pesticide use in vegetable farming enhances productivity but poses significant health and environmental risks, particularly when farmers' perceptions do not align with safe practices. This study evaluated vegetable farmers' perception of pesticide use in Giwa Local Government Area, Kaduna State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected from 400 smallholder vegetable farmers selected through stratified random sampling using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, perception indices, and multiple linear regression were used for analysis. Results showed that vegetable farming was maledominated (67.3%), with a mean age of 50 years and average farm size of 1 hectare.  Farmers  demonstrated a high perception of health risks associated with pesticides (mean index = 4.10/5.0) but a lower perception of environmental risks (mean = 3.80). Despite this awareness, safety practices were poor: only 20.9% consistently used personal protective equipment (PPE), and 58.3% rarely or never followed recommended dosages. Education level (β = 0.45, p = 0.016), health risk perception (β = 0.60, p = 0.008), and access to extension services (β = 0.35, p = 0.023) were significant predictors of safer practices. Major constraints included high costs of PPE and pesticides (45.3%), limited access to extension services (30.1%), and difficulty understanding labels due to illiteracy (13.7%). The study concludes that a significant gap exists between risk perception and actual safety behavior. It recommends strengthening practical extension training, subsidizing PPE, and improving pesticide labeling with pictograms and local languages to bridge the gap.