FACTORS AFFECTING AWARENESS OF MAIZE FARMERS ON HEALTH RISK OF AGROCHEMICAL USAGE IN NIGER STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

ABSTRACT The study examined the factors affecting awareness of maize farmers on health risk of agrochemical usage in Niger State, Nigeria. A three stage sampling procedure was adopted in selecting the respondents. To achieve this research objective, a cross sectional survey of maize farmers in six 96) Local Government Areas (LGA) was carried out on 181 respondents. Descriptive statistics and probit regression method were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that maize farming in the state was dominated by married men with mean age and farming experience experiences of 43 years and 13 years respectively. Furthermore, most farmers do not read or follow agrochemical instruction which may have led to some health challenges like difficulty in breathing, other chest pain and sneezing, and eye problem. The probit result shows that age, sources of information, labour reduces the odds of agrochemical health risks, while increase in farming experience, farm size, membership of association and cost of seed increases the odds of agrochemical health risk awareness. The study concluded that maize farming was dominated by married male farmers with difficulty in breathing, chest pain, eye problem and sneezing topped the health hazards factors as perceived by the farmers. It was therefore recommended that, awareness campaigns and and mass trainings on the use, handling and application of agrochemicals should be encouraged in order to achieve effective and safe use of agrochemicals in the study area.