ACUTE PESTICIDE POISONING AMONG SMALLHOLDER FARMERS AND FARMWORKERS
Case study 1 Benin In 2016 and 2018 PAN UK and Organisation Béninoise pour la Promotion de l’Agriculture Biologique (OBEPAB) undertook surveys of cotton farmers and a series of consultations with farmers, clinicians and epidemiologists. The purpose was to understand the scale of the problem of pesticide poisoning among cotton farmers and to determine how much information on incidents of pesticide poisoning reaches national authorities and decision makers. The questionnaire was developed in close collaboration between PAN UK and OBEPAB and in consultation with four cotton farmers from Glazoué area (who helped to refine the questions). In addition to the questionnaire, the team used group discussions and semi-structured interviews with a variety of stakeholders in order to elicit more information and verify survey results. Country: Benin Partner Organisation: OBEPAB Years conducted: 2016 and 2018 Number of participants: 493 (2016) and 507 (2018) Description of participants: 66 Aged over 18 66 Smallholder farmers growing cotton 66 Working on their own family’s land (not paid farm workers) 66 41% selected farmers were organic and the remainder were conventional cotton farmers in both surveys 66 36% participants were women in both surveys Location: Two locations in the North of Benin (Kandi and Sinende) and two further South (Glazoué and Djidja).
Protective equipment During a group discussion, cotton farmers reported that they usually have training on the use of pesticides and protective equipment, but the protective equipment is not provided and farmers struggle to find Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in local shops or other outlets.
Results for conventional farmers only 66 % pesticide users reporting acute pesticide poisoning (APP) in previous 12 months: 42% in 2016 and 51% in 2018. 66 % farmers missing days’ work due to APP: 21% in 2016 and 9% in 2018. 66 Number of incidents in previous 12 months: In 2016, 32% of farmers experienced multiple APP. 17% farmers reported six or more incidents in the previous 12 months. In 2018, 20% conventional farmers reported suffering six or more incidents in the previous 12 months. 66 Signs and symptoms reported by farmers reporting APP: The types of symptoms experienced by farmers included localised reactions such as eye irritation/inflammation (93% of farmers suffering symptoms) and skin (91%) irritation. A high proportion of farmers
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