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Perception of Pesticide Use by Farmers and Neighbors in Two Periurban Areas

Nur Ahmed
CSO & Head
Entomology Division, BRRI, Gazipur 1701

Jan-Eric Englund
Senior Lecturer
Dept. of Agrosystems, SLU, PO Box 104 SE-230 53 Alnarp, Sweden, Tel: +46 04041 51 39, 040-41 52 36, Email: jan-eric.englund@slu.se

Inger Åhman
Professor
Professor, Department of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, SLU, PO Box 101 SE-230 53 Alnarp, Sweden, Telephone: +46 40 41 52 40 E-mail: inger.ahman@slu.se

Mats Lieberg
Professor
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Landscape Architecture, Box 58, SE-230 53 Alnarp, Sweden

Eva Johansson
Professor
Professor, Dept. of Agrosystems, SLU, PO Box 104 SE-230 53 Alnarp, Sweden, Tel: +46 40 41 55 62 Cell: +46 761 28 57 37 Fax +46 40 41 55 19, Email: eva.johansson@slu.se

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Public concern about pesticide use is high although varying with social factors. Individual differences in ‘perception’ and attitude to pesticide use might be particularly evident in periurban regions where farmers and other people live together. This was investigated using a questionnaire sent to 600 farmers and 600 nonfarmers in two periurban areas of Sweden. ‘Neighbors’1 were found to have a more negative attitude to pesticides than farmers, who were slightly positive to the use. Neighbors perceived pesticide use in agriculture to be more harmful to the environment than did farmers and also to reduce the quality of products. Both farmers and neighbors thought that farmers are the predominant users of pesticides. However, reported pesticide users within the home setting were just as common among the neighbors as among the farmers. Perceptions of pesticide use were also found to differ between periurban regions within the country. Attitudes and perceptions of pesticide use, as well as of who is the user, differ based on the group of people in a periurban environment and between different regions. Such differences might play a role for tensions and conflicts in the periurban area of a society and also for regulations of pesticide use.

Keywords: Attitude, Harmfulness, Insecticide, Fungicide, Herbicide, Urban–rural fringe

Location: Alanrp, Sweden

Start Date: 01-02-2009

End Date: 31-05-2009

Program Area: Pest Management

Non-commodity: Up scalling

Objectives:

The aim of the present study was thus to investigate if differences exist between farmers and neighbors in the perception and attitude toward pesticide use as well as whether perception and attitude varied with geographical locations. Also, the aim of the study was to understand if social factors e.g. gender, age and education level influenced the perception and attitude toward pesticide use. Furthermore, the relationship between perception of pesticide use and the reported actual use of pesticides by farmers and neighbors was evaluated

Methodology:

Data for the present study was collected through a self-completed questionnaire in Swedish (translated into English) distributed by SKOP (www.skop.se), a private opinion institute in Sweden. The questions within the questionnaire were developed by the authors of the present paper although in discussion with SKOP having long tradition of distributing and interpreting questionnaires. The basis when selecting which questions to include in the questionnaire was to be able to answer the aims of the study. The questionnaire was pre-tested on a number of colleagues at the university and a number of farmers before finalized for this survey. The farmers' and nonfarmers' data were collected from the periurban area of the landscape Skåne (Southern part of Sweden) and the Mälardalen region (the valley of Lake Mälaren; south-west Uppland, south-east Västmanland, northern Södermanland and west of Stockholm), two densely populated areas in Sweden (around 100 persons per km2) with intense agricultural activities. The selected regions for this study are important for Swedish agriculture; 25% of the Swedish farmers live in these two areas (SCB data base, 2007a), differences also do exist. For example, Skåne has a higher proportion of agriculturalland, higher mean temperature and humidity and lower numbers of organic farmers as compared to Mälardalen (SCB database, 2007a; SCB, 2010). The farmers' and non-farmers' were randomly selected from the member register of the Federation of Swedish Farmers, an association which altogether has 170000 members with interests in “green” businesses and living conditions in the rural areas (LRF; www.lrf.se). In Sweden, most farmers are members of LRF. A random sample from this data base should thereby be representative for the farmers of the selected regions. For the nonfarmers, sampling represents the non-farmers recorded in the LRF register. Addresses were used to estimate the non-farmers' house distances from the nearest farmland by using a map which has been developed by ENIRO (www.eniro.se), a company listing Swedish telephone numbers and addresses.

A total of 1200 questionnaires were sent out, equally divided among the two areas and to farmers and non-farmers, i.e. to 300 farmers and 300 non-farmers in each of the two areas. Farmers were selected on the basis of farm size from three categories i.e., a) 2–20 ha, b) 21–50 ha and c) larger than 50 ha (categories commonly used to classify Swedish farmers), 100 of each of those from each location. The non-farmers were, after the random selection of participants, divided into four categories, those living a) in a house less than 100 m away from nearest farm land and called “neighbors”, b) in a house more than 100 m from the nearest farm land, c) in an apartment and d) place not identified.

Factor analysis with Varimax rotation including all questionnaires was carried out for each question to identify common underlying concepts (factors) from items of the question. Then the mean scores from the common concepts were used in the analysis. The mean expressing the common concept was analyzed by a general linear model (GLM) using SPSS (SPSS, 2008).

Source of Information: Science of the Total Environment 412-413: 77–86; 2011

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

1.	Budget:
2.	Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Attitudes and perceptions of pesticide use, as well as of who is the user, differ based on the group of people in a periurban environment and between different regions. Such differences might play a role for tensions and conflicts in the periurban area of a society and also for regulations of pesticide use.

Knowledge Management: Journal