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

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 (6) Local Government areas (LGAs) 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 experiences of 43 years and 13 years, respectively. Furthermore, most farmers do not read nor follow agrochemical instruction which might have led to some health challenges like difficulty in breathing, chest pain, and sneezing, and eye problem. The probit result shows that age, sources of information, labour reduces the odds of agrochemical health risk, 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 who are married and had a mean age of 43 years; also, 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 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.