Survey results of 137 Ghanaian farmers who applied pesticides in vegetable production indicated much overuse, misuse and abuse of the chemicals. The practices of use of the chemicals defied some of the basic principles of insecticide management, and presented great potential for exposure of the farmers to the chemicals from both skin contact and inhalation. Various poisoning symptoms were reported among the farmers. Young farmers (less than 45 years of age) were the most vulnerable group. Even thoughthe farmers could differentiate pesticides in terms of their effectiveness against pests and hazard to human health, their perception was not too different from that of Experts using WHO ranking. Farmers' perception of pesticide hazard did not relate toits perceived effectiveness against pests (p < 0.05).
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