Investigation of the levels of knowledge and awareness of agricultural workers about pesticide use

In the present study, the purpose was to examine the knowledge and awareness levels of agricultural workers about pesticide use. This cross-sectional study was conducted with a total of 430 people who were living in Kırklareli Pınarhisar town center and its districts between December 2022 and March 2023. The data were collected face-to-face with the help of the Personal Information Form and the Information and Awareness Level About Pesticide Use Form. The mean score of the participants received from the Information and Awareness Level About Pesticide Use Form was found to be 43.91±7.29. The participants answered 78.4% of all questions in the form correctly. The mean total score of knowledge and awareness about pesticide use was found to be high in those who were aged <45 years, those living in the districts, those with university or higher education levels, those living in a nuclear family, and those with good/moderate income levels (p<0.05). The knowledge and awareness scores of those who had been agricultural workers for <25 years, those who worked in fields for ≥8 hours a day, those who consumed their crops at home, those who had received training on pesticides, those who had certificates of proficiency in pesticide use methods, those who had used pesticides for <20 years, those who did not spray pesticides without seeing pests in their fields, those who paid attention to the license and expiration dates of pesticides, those who read pesticide labels, those who followed instructions and those who stored pesticides in a separate warehouse were found to be high (p<0.05). It was also found that those who took protective measures before spraying, those who wore gloves, masks/glasses, and protective clothing during spraying, those who did not smoke and did not eat during spraying, those who did not experience pesticide poisoning symptoms and those who did not have health problems because of pesticide use had high knowledge and awareness total mean scores about pesticide use (p<0.01). Agricultural workers must be trained periodically about pesticide use, health effects, and hygiene practices and their awareness must be increased in this respect. Keywords: pesticide, pesticide knowledge level, pesticide awareness level, agricultural worker, farmer.