Indicators of Pesticide Illiteracy Among Trinidad's Small-Scale Farmers.

Pesticides have become a staple in Trinidad's agriculture. Both large sugarcane estates and small-scale farmers have access to hundreds of pesticides, many of which are considered highly toxic to humans by several agencies, including the World Health Organization and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and which have been banned, cancelled, or restricted by the United States, Canada, and Engl and . Trinidad's small-scale farmers are encouraged to use pesticides, and receive subsidies for their purchase from the government. Many of these farmers live in areas with the highest illiteracy levels in the country. It was suspected that the easy availability of highly toxic pesticides, in addition to government incentives to use them, were creating a situation in which farmers with low or no pesticide literacy are using the pesticides incorrectly. This study assessed the pesticide literacy of small-scale farmers in four villages in Trinidad using a stratified sample survey of 100 persons representative of the population classified as small-scale farmers. The study found that although farmers have been using highly toxic pesticides for between five and fifteen years, their knowledge of hazards or toxicity was low to non-existent. Indicators of pesticide illiteracy were found in all areas--knowledge of hazards or toxicity of pesticides being used; knowledge of safe mixing and application practices; and knowledge of necessary protective clothing. A second, and related part of this dissertation, is an assessment of the "Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Act," 1979, of Trinidad and Tobago. The act purports to offer protection from the hazards of pesticides to farmers such as those in the survey, but the study found that the act is ineffective and offers no protection to farmers, nor does it control the importation and use of pesticides because, up to March 1986, it had not been proclaimed.PhDAgricultural educationUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/161011/1/8612600.pd