Negative effects of pesticides on the environment and the farmers awareness in Saudi Arabia: a case study.

Abstract

The main goal of this study was to determine the level sofknowledgeof the farmersontheeffectof pesticideson environmentin Dawadmi Province, Saudi Arabia .This is achieved through realiz ing some secondary objectives such as identification of the farmers' socioeconomic characteristics and its relation to some of the study variables, their attitude towards the negative effect sof pesticides on the environment, their knowledge level about pe sticides effect and their sources ofinformation about pesticides use, storage and disposal. The study covered (6) locations/areas ,and some204 farmers were included as stratified random sample. The results revealed that the 5% farmersdo not rely on agri cultural extension butthey seek information from other trustworthysources. The farmers have a positive attitude towards learning about the negative effects of the pesticides on the environment. The study also showed that the most common method of pestici des application is spraying using axi -sprayers or portable sprayers. The resultsof the studyestablishthe needfor the launching of extension programson the proper and safe methods for pesticides handling and application. The study also suggests the need for improving the existing agricultural extension servicetomake positive contributions to production and ensure the health of the farmers/farm workers while keeping the environment safe and clean . Also there is a c