KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES OF FARMERS TOWARDS PESTICIDES USE AND HANDLING IN GREENHOUSE FARMS, SUDAN

A descriptive cross sectional study was carried out in Khartoum State to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of farmers towards pesticide residues on the vegetables grown in greenhouses. Fourteen farmers from seven localities of Khartoum State were selected and interviewed. The results revealed that majority of farmers (92.9%) between the age of 25 and 45 years old, while only one farmer (7.1%) was aging more than 45 years old. Regarding the educational level, the study showed that 20% were illiterates, whereas 40% had completed secondary high school, and 40% were university graduates. Almost 93 % of them obtained training on pesticide use, handling, wear personal protective equipment and follow the instructions of the labels when using each pesticide. But unfortunately, 57% of them didn’t know that the pesticide’s residues can remain on the vegetables. Results also demonstrated that 92.8% of farmers showed poor practices regarding the disposal of empty pesticides containers. The study indicated that 71.4% of farmers were collecting their vegetables three days after spraying, while 28.6% were collecting after two days. These poor practices may lead to high concentration of pesticides’ residues on the vegetables thus endangering the health of consumers.