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Residues of endosulfan in cotton growing area of Vehari, Pakistan: an assessment of knowledge and awareness of pesticide use and health risks

  • Sustainable Urban Agriculture: Vector for Ecological Transition
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Abstract

This study is based on self-reported information collected from selected farmers of Vehari District, Punjab, Pakistan, to determine their technical knowledge and awareness about pesticide use and associated environmental and health risks. Moreover, soil contamination by routinely used persistent organochlorine pesticide, endosulfan, was also evaluated. Survey data revealed very low literacy rate (on an average 9th grade education) and technical knowledge (almost missing) of the farmers in Vehari District. The farmers are unable to fully read and understand the instructions about the use of pesticide marked on the containers. They are not fully aware of pesticide persistence and toxicity (73%), unable to identify cotton pests and diseases (86%), and do not know which crop to grow in cotton adjacent fields (100%). Data also revealed that the farmers (100%) do not follow safety measure during pesticide application and are unaware of pesticide toxicity symptoms in human as well as the basic first-aid practices (89%).

Poor literacy rate and lack of technical knowledge of farmers in Vehari regarding pesticide use and handling are posing serious environmental and health risks among the local inhabitants, particularly among farmers. Soil analysis results showed that concentration of α- and β-endosulfan ranged from 0–14 to 0–14.64 μg/mg, respectively. Principal component analysis showed that soil organic matter is the key soil parameter controlling the occurrence and fate of endosulfan under sandy loam soil conditions of Vehari District. There is a serious need of improving technical and environmental knowledge of farmer about pesticide risks on human health in the studied area, in particular, and the entire country in general. Findings are of great use for policymaking in Pakistan to minimize pesticide risks in Pakistan.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are also thankful for experimental analysis to the personals at Laboratory of Department of Environmental Science, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Abbottabad campus, and Laboratory of Soil Science and Soil Microbial Ecology, Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture Sciences and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan.

Funding

This work has been funded by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (www.hec.gov.pk) under the project “Analysis of pesticide percolation with time in soil of cotton growing area in Vehari district.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Vehari Campus, Vehari, 61100, Pakistan

    Ashfaq Ahmad, Muhammad Shahid, Sana Khalid, Ghulam Abbas & Wajid Nasim

  2. Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus, Abbottabad, Pakistan

    Habiba Zaffar, Tatheer Naqvi, Arshid Pervez & Muhammad Bilal

  3. Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture Sciences and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan

    Muhammad Arif Ali

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  1. Ashfaq Ahmad
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  2. Muhammad Shahid
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Correspondence to Muhammad Shahid.

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Ahmad, A., Shahid, M., Khalid, S. et al. Residues of endosulfan in cotton growing area of Vehari, Pakistan: an assessment of knowledge and awareness of pesticide use and health risks. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 20079–20091 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3169-6

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