Profile characteristics of farmers using plant protection chemicals in Ahilyanagar District of Maharashtra

Introduction

Plant protection chemicals are an important component of crop production because they help farmers manage insect pests, diseases and weeds and reduce potential crop losses. At the same time, their use requires care because pesticide residues and chemical movement can affect soil, water, air and non-target organisms. Pesticides may move away from their intended target through processes such as runoff, leaching and volatilisation, thereby contributing to environmental contamination. The risks associated with plant protection chemicals are not determined only by the chemical itself. The way in which farmers select, handle, apply and dispose of these products is also important. Farmers are directly involved in several stages of pesticide use and may therefore be exposed during mixing, spraying and disposal. Their understanding of pesticide hazards can influence how they respond to these risks and whether they follow recommended safety practices. Farmers differ considerably in their age, educational attainment, farming experience, economic position, access to information and willingness to take risks. These characteristics can provide useful information for understanding the differences observed in farmers' perceptions of pesticide-related hazards. In particular, access to reliable information and knowledge regarding pesticide use may be important for communicating the health and environmental risks associated with improper application. The present study was therefore undertaken in selected areas of Ahilyanagar district of Maharashtra to document the profile characteristics of farmers. The study is based on the aim that understanding the characteristics of the farming population which will be useful for designing extension programmes suited to their information and learning needs.

Objective

To study the profile characteristics farmers in district Ahilyanagar of Maharashtra state.

Material and Methods

The present study was conducted in Ahilyanagar district of Maharashtra state. The Rahata and Sangamner tahsil were purposively selected because of having cultivation of commercial and horticultural crops, which has a higher use of plant protection chemicals for managing pests and diseases. From each tahsil, six villages were selected by random sampling. Twenty farmers from each selected village were randomly selected, constituting a total sample of 120 respondents. Ex-post facto research design was used for the study. The data were collected through personal interviews using a pre-tested interview schedule. The collected data were analysed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation and correlation coefficient. The distribution of farmers according to their age in table 2.

Result and Discussion Age

It was observed that 41.66 per cent of the respondents completed higher secondary education, followed by 36.66 per cent attained graduation and above level of education. Further, 15.00 per cent of the respondents had secondary level of education, while 5.83 per cent had primary education up to the fourth standard. Only 0.83 per cent of the respondents were illiterate. The reason for higher secondary level of education among the selected farmers was due to that they understand the importance of education for their personal development. Due to the scope to establish better economic condition, they might be have decided to go for formal education rather than earning money right from childhood. The distribution of the respondents according to their Farming Experience given in table 3 revealed that half of the farmers that is 52.5 per cent have medium level experience. This is followed by 29.16 per cent of farmers had low level of farming experience and 18.33 per cent had high experience level. The probable reason for medium to low experience might be because of majority of farmers are from medium to young age groups. From the table no 4 it was found that nearly half of the respondents that is 45.83 per cent possessed semi medium category of land holding. The 25.00 per cent of farmers had small and 15.83 per cent of farmers had medium type of land holding. While the 8.33 per cent of farmers and 5.00 per cent of farmers belongs to marginal and large land holding categories respectively. Thus, it is concluded that majority of respondents belongs to semi medium and small type of land holding categories. The probable reason for land holding might be that the ancestral transfer of land holding from generation to generation. Table 5 shows that, more than half 60.00 per cent of the farmers were found with medium annual income i.e. Rs 1 lakh to 10 lakhs/-., followed by 34.17 per cent and 5.83 per cent of them with high and low annual income, respectively. Thus, it is inferred that great majority of the farmers were found with medium to high annual income category. This may partly reflect the commercial and horticultural nature of farming in the selected areas. It is evident from table 7 that, majority of i.e. 63.33 per cent of the respondents had 'fair' cropping pattern, while 21.67 per cent and 15.00 per cent of the respondents had 'good' and 'poor' cropping pattern respectively. The respondents cultivated the crops during different seasons as well as annual and perennial crops. The cropping pattern included crops such as soybean, cotton, maize, wheat, capsicum, onion, cauliflower, tomato and other vegetables and sugarcane, along with perennial fruit crops. The predominance of a fair cropping pattern reflects the diversified nature of farming among the respondents. Such diversification may require farmers to make plant protection decisions for different crops and pest situations during different periods of the year. The data in table 8 revealed that majority 45.0 per cent of the farmers had medium level economic motivation. Whereas, 15.00 per cent and 40.00 per cent of farmers had low and high level of economic motivation, respectively. It can be concluded that majority of farmers had high to medium level of economic motivation. The relatively larger proportion of respondents with high economic motivation indicates that profit-related considerations were important in farm decision-making. It is evident from the data reported in table 9 that, majority of i.e. 61.67 per cent of the farmers had medium level of risk orientation followed by high and low risk orientation with 24.17 per cent and 14.17 per cent, respectively. Thus, majority of farmers that is 61.67 per cent and 24.16 per cent had medium to high-risk orientation. This may be relevant to the adoption of new crop protection practices, particularly where farmers have to balance expected benefits with uncertainty regarding their effectiveness or cost. From the Table 10 it is observed that, more than half of the farmers i.e. 55.00 per cent had medium level of knowledge about different areas of plant protection chemicals use, while 20.83 per cent and 14.17 per cent of farmers had high and low level of knowledge about different areas of pesticide. Thus, it can be concluded that the most of the farmers had medium to high level of knowledge regarding different areas of plant protection chemicals use. Probable reason for above finding may be due to their higher secondary level of education, medium level of source of information. Thus, farmers possessed better knowledge regarding plant protection chemicals use but have few knowledge gaps regards of recommended dose, alternative management of pests. This suggests that extension efforts should give attention not only to general awareness but also to specific recommendations concerning recommended dose, alternative management of pests.

Farming experience

Land holding

Annual income

Source of Information

Cropping pattern

Economic motivation

Risk orientation

Knowledge regarding areas of pesticide use

Conclusion

The study showed that the farmers surveyed in Rahata and Sangamner tehsils had varied personal, economic and psychological characteristics. Most respondents were International Journal of Agriculture and Food Science https://www.agriculturaljournals.com middle-aged, had higher secondary or graduate-level education, possessed medium farming experience and had semi-medium land holdings. Medium levels were also observed for annual income, source of information, risk orientation and knowledge regarding plant protection chemicals, whereas economic motivation was high among a relatively larger proportion of farmers. Overall, the findings suggest that improving farmers' access to relevant information and strengthening their practical knowledge about plant protection chemicals may be useful for improving their understanding of plant protection chemicals related hazards. Extension programmes should give particular attention to crop-specific recommendations, appropriate pesticide doses, application methods, alternative management of pest population, disposal practices and other aspects of safe pesticide use. Since the study was conducted with 120 farmers from two tehsils, the findings should be interpreted within the context of the selected study area.

References

1. Abhilash PC, Singh N. Pesticide use and application: an Indian scenario. J Hazard Mater. 2009;165(1-3):1-12.
2. Baride MV, Patil SN, Golekar R. Estimation of pesticide residues in soil, groundwater, vegetables and fruits: a case study of Jalgaon district, Maharashtra (India). SRTM Univ Res J Sci. 2015;Spec Vol:1.
3. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. Monitoring of pesticide residues in food products-Reg. Pesticides Residue/RCD/FSSAI. New Delhi: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Regulatory Compliance Division; 2019. File No. 7(5) 2019.
4. Kashyap U, Garg S, Arora P. Pesticide pollution in India: environmental and health risks, and policy challenges. Toxicol Rep. 2024;13:101801.
5. Kumar S, Kumar R, Choudhary N, Rajpurohit TS, Tarar S. Perception of vegetable growers on health hazards due to uses of pesticide. Asian J Agric Ext Econ Sociol. 2025;43(7):71-77.
6. Shetty PK, Murugan M, Hiremath MB, Sreeja KG. Farmers' education and perception on pesticide use and crop economies in Indian agriculture. J Exp Sci. 2010;1(1):3-8.