Pesticide Knowledge and Safety Practices among Vegetable Farmers of Iloilo City, Philippines

The unsafe and indiscriminate usage of pesticides in agriculture presents a major hazard to human health and the environment. This study aimed to assess to levels of knowledge, attitude, and practices of vegetable farmers of Iloilo City toward the safe use of pesticides. A total of 125 farmers participated in this study through site interviews and farm observations. The majority of the farmers are well knowledgeable that pesticides were harmful to health (71%) and the environment (67%). However, farmers' attitude toward pesticide safety and usage is insufficient. Over 81% of the farmers did not follow pesticide instructions on labels, and 62% did not use personal protective equipment such as respirators and protective boots (29%). Regardless of education, farmer respondents were significantly more likely not to use boots (x2 = 165.95, p