Farmers' pesticide use, disposal behavior, and pre-harvest interval: a case study from Nigeria

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cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Institute of Tropical Agriculture
cg.contributor.affiliationMichigan State University
cg.contributor.affiliationCropLife Nigeria
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Food Policy Research Institute
cg.contributor.donorCGIAR Trust Fund
cg.contributor.initiativeRethinking Food Markets
cg.coverage.countryNigeria
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2NG
cg.coverage.regionWestern Africa
cg.creator.identifierTesfamicheal Wossen: 0000-0003-3793-7078
cg.creator.identifierOyakhilomen Oyinbo: 0000-0002-9687-3097
cg.creator.identifierJordan Chamberlin: 0000-0001-9522-3001
cg.creator.identifierTahirou Abdoulaye: 0000-0002-8072-1363
cg.howPublishedFormally Published
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2025.1520943
cg.identifier.urlhttps://hdl.handle.net/10883/35624
cg.isijournalISI Journal
cg.issn2571-581X
cg.journalFrontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
cg.reviewStatusPeer Review
dc.contributor.authorMesay Yami
dc.contributor.authorLiverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda O.
dc.contributor.authorRichard Maiwad
dc.contributor.authorWossen, Tesfamicheal
dc.contributor.authorFalade, Titilayo D. O.
dc.contributor.authorOyakhilomen Oyinbo
dc.contributor.authorFutoshi Yamauchi
dc.contributor.authorChamberlin, Jordan
dc.contributor.authorFeleke, Shiferaw
dc.contributor.authorAbdoulaye, Tahirou
dc.date.accessioned2025-05-30T22:36:00Z
dc.date.available2025-05-30T22:36:00Z
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/174891
dc.titleFarmers' pesticide use, disposal behavior, and pre-harvest interval: a case study from Nigeria
dcterms.abstractIn Sub-Saharan Africa, small farmers rely heavily on synthetic pesticides, the overuse of which poses significant risks to human health, the environment, and food safety. Yet detailed empirical evidence on the knowledge and drivers of pesticide management practices remains scarce, limiting insights for policymakers and development practitioners. To address this gap, we leveraged data collected from 1,556 tomato producers in Northern Nigeria to investigate the determinants of pesticide use behavior using a sequential-exploratory mixed-method approach. We examined a broader range of pest management-related practices than prior literature, including safety equipment usage, pesticide disposal methods, and adherence to pre-harvest intervals (PHIs)-the intervals between the last pesticide application and the crop harvest. We found substantial non-compliance with the recommended practices: 45% of farmers reuse empty pesticide containers for other purposes, 14% discard them on the farm, 15% burn containers in open fires, and 40% harvest tomatoes within 1-5 days after pesticide application, violating the 7-day PHI guideline. These findings suggest that many tomato farmers adopt unsafe practices, which have adverse implications for their health, the environment, and the safety of food for consumers. We show that training on pesticide disposal and midstream market channels (e.g., wholesalers and aggregators) are strongly correlated with improved pesticide handling and PHI compliance. Overall, our results underscore the need for targeted training programs to enhance farmers' awareness of safe pesticide application, disposal practices, and PHI adherence. These efforts should be complemented by stronger regulatory frameworks and mechanisms to align farmer pesticide use practices with consumer preferences for safe products, as observed in the higher PHI adherence among farmers selling to midstream actors.
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Access
dcterms.available2025-03-19
dcterms.bibliographicCitationYami, M., Liverpool-Tasie, L. S. O., Maiwad, R., Wossen, T., Falade, T. D. O., Oyinbo, O., Yamauchi, F., Chamberlin, J., Feleke, S., & Abdoulaye, T. (2025). Farmers’ pesticide use, disposal behavior, and pre-harvest interval: A case study from Nigeria. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 9, 1520943. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2025.1520943
dcterms.issued2025
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.licenseCC-BY-4.0
dcterms.publisherFrontiers Media
dcterms.subjectpesticides
dcterms.subjectfood safety
dcterms.subjectintegrated pest management
dcterms.typeJournal Article

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