Assessment of Farmers’ Perception Towards the Usage of Banned Agrochemicals: Case Study of Amaranth Farmers in Ekiti State, Nigeria

The study assessed farmers’ perception towards the usage of banned agrochemicals in Ekiti State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select one hundred and twenty farmers from three amaranth producing Local Government Areas of Ekiti state. The average age of the farmers was 41, with the majority (81.7%) of male farmers. The average years of schooling was approximately 10 years with an average annual income of 212,000 Naira (600 US Dollar). The study showed that 85% of the vegetable farmers obtained information on the use of agrochemicals from sales agents (agrochemicals retailers), 77.5% from fellow farmers and 32.5% from extension workers. The study further revealed that the majority of the amaranth farmers (99.2%) were aware that some agrochemicals had been banned. All the respondents were using agrochemicals for production of amaranth and farmers also indicated that they still used some of banned chemicals such as Gammalin (87%), Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) (17%) and Aldrin (16%). The farmers used banned agrochemicals because they perceived them as effective in the pest and disease control (98%), inexpensive (66%), available in the market (59%) and because of advice given by sales agents (58%). The findings revealed that the amaranth farmers have a high level of awareness of the negative effects produced by continuous usage of banned agrochemicals, while the majority of the farmers continuously use them. Therefore, the study highlights the need for adequate registration of all approved agrochemicals by the competent agency. Also, enlightenment campaigns by extension agents on the effects of banned agrochemicals need to be organised for amaranth farmers and sellers, as well as suppliers of agrochemicals. Finally, banned agrochemicals should not be allowed into the country by the federal Ministry of Agriculture and Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA).