Determinants of Safety and Health Behaviors of Wheat Farmers towards the Use of Chemical Pesticides in Qorveh County

The poisoning of farm workers with pesticides is a common job hazard caused by the application of pesticides, especially in developing countries. Agriculture is directly related to the environment including water resources, and farming behaviors can entail a plethora of positive or negative effects on these vital resources. So, the present study aimed to explore the safety and health behaviors of wheat farmers towards the use of chemical pesticides in Qorveh County in Kurdistan province, Iran. The statistical population of this applied research consisted of all irrigated wheat farmers in the 2019‐2020 crop year (N = 1700) in Qorveh County. The sample size was determined to be 170 people by Cochran’s formula, and the random multistage technique was adopted for data collection. The main research instrument was a questionnaire whose content validity was checked by a panel of experts and the average variance extracted (AVE) index. Also, its reliability was estimated by Cronbach’s alpha and the Cumulative Reliability (CR) coefficient. The results of the structural equation modeling (SEM) showed that the variables of the information source, attitude, and knowledge of chemical pesticide application accounted for 79 percent of the variance in the factors affecting the safety and health behaviors of wheat farmers as to the application of these pesticides. Considering the significant relationship that information source, attitude, and knowledge have with safety and health behaviors, it is recommended to hold training courses to familiarize wheat farmers with the hazards of conventional farming practices and the benefits of IPM practices by the organizations in charge, e.g. Agricultural Jihad Organization. This will foster a positive attitude among the farmers to adopt safety and healthy behaviors.

农药导致的农场工人中毒是农药施用过程中常见的职业危害，尤其在发展中国家更为普遍。农业与包括水资源在内的环境直接相关，耕作行为会对这些重要资源产生诸多积极或消极影响。因此，本研究旨在探讨伊朗库尔德斯坦省科尔韦赫县小麦种植户在化学农药使用方面的安全健康行为。本应用研究的统计总体为科尔韦赫县2019-2020作物年度所有灌溉小麦种植户（N=1700）。通过Cochran公式确定样本量为170人，并采用随机多阶段抽样技术收集数据。主要研究工具为问卷，其内容效度通过专家小组和平均方差提取（AVE）指数进行检验，信度则通过Cronbachα系数和累积信度（CR）系数评估。结构方程模型（SEM）结果显示，信息来源、态度及化学农药施用知识这三个变量解释了影响小麦种植户农药施用安全健康行为因素变异的79%。鉴于信息来源、态度和知识与安全健康行为之间存在显著关联，建议由相关机构（如农业圣战组织）开展培训课程，帮助小麦种植户了解传统耕作方式的危害及有害生物综合治理（Integrated Pest Management，IPM）实践的益处，从而培养种植户采取安全健康行为的积极态度。