Quantity and toxicity of prepared and distributed pesticides and determining the knowledge and attitude of experts, sellers and farmers about the effects of pesticide consumption from a health perspective in East Azerbaijan province

Abstract

With the increase in world population, the need for food to feed humans has been considered and therefore the importance of using pesticides is becoming more apparent. Although efforts have been made to produce and consume compounds used to control pests and insects and increase crop productivity with fewer risks and side effects,, but the pollution caused by their residues still affects the quality of human food, water, air and the environment. The present study is defined with the main purpose of "quantity and toxicity of prepared and distributed pesticides and determining the knowledge and attitude of experts, sellers and farmers about the effects of pesticides from a health perspective in East Azerbaijan province" and tries to provide a suitable and reliable information base for decision-making and planning regarding pesticides in East Azerbaijan province. materials and methods: The target population in the present study is East Azerbaijan province in the Islamic Republic of Iran and its agricultural lands. In this study was tried To be determined, the quantities and types of pesticides used and distributed in governmental and non-governmental systems (including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, acaricides, disinfectants and various pesticides) in East Azerbaijan province in the last 5 years through the province Jihad Agricultural Organization, the General Directorate of Industry, Mines and Trade, the Plant Protection Organization, the Rural Cooperative Organization, also sellers of pesticides was prepared and the tonnage used was determined. In the next stage, the amount of pesticide consumption in agricultural lands, gardens, orchards and greenhouses of the province is calculated in kilograms per hectare. Also, the use of pesticides in terms of cities in the province and the level of agricultural lands was analyzed and presented in GIS environment. To determine the toxicity of pesticides in the province in terms of health and safety, the classification of the World Health Organization and EPA and other reputable organizations and MSDS itself pesticides are used and the necessary analysis was done in terms of toxicity of groups of pesticides. Finally, the demographic characteristics and the level of knowledge and attitude of agricultural jihad engineers and sellers of pesticides and farmers regarding the health and safety effects of pesticides used was examined and analyzed through a researcher questionnaire. The sample size for the query was extracted from Morgan sample size determination program as well as Cochran software to ensure the validity of the sample size. Finally, the summary of the above information was presented in the form of a final report.

findings: For various reasons, in previous years, there was no reliable information about the tonnage and toxicity of pesticides prepared and distributed in East Azerbaijan province. Our findings showed that in 1397, the amount of one million one hundred forty one thousand and six hundred fifty-seven kilograms or liter of pesticide in the government system and one million and seven hundred thirty-two thousand and seven hundred thirty kilograms or liter of pesticide in the non-governmental system and the sum of two million and eight hundred seventy-three thousand and seven hundred thirty kilograms Pesticides are distributed in the province. The data collected in the present study show that the total area of agricultural lands in East Azerbaijan province is 1198742 hectares and considering the amount of pesticides distributed, the amount of 2.39 kg or liter of pesticides per hectare of the province's lands is consumed per year. 57.3% of the distributed pesticides in the province were in grade 3 and moderate toxicity and grades 2, 4 and 1 were in the next ranks, respectively. Assessment of knowledge and attitude for experts, salesmen and farmers was above average and desirable. Discussion: The highest distribution was related to insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, acaricides, various pesticides and disinfectants, respectively, which is almost consistent with the global consumption of pesticides. The average consumption of pesticides in kilogram per hectare is lower than many developed countries. The highest toxicity of pesticides was in Grade 3 province and in this respect it is not better in the international level, but in the country and in comparison with other provinces, the situation is more favorable. Although the results of the evaluation of the knowledge and attitude of experts and sellers did not have an objective sample for comparison, but in both sections their scores were above average and acceptable. The study showed that the relative knowledge of farmers is above average, but despite this, a small percentage of farmers behave quite safely, and from this perspective, they have lower scores than domestic farmers and are in line with the global average. Farmers' attitudes were also above average, although the need for training appropriate to the type of job is strongly felt