Work safety conditions in the handling of pesticides in small family farms

Abstract

Family farmers during application and handling of pesticides are exposed to several risks due to the handling of highly toxic products. Thus, this work aimed to know the socioeconomic profile of family farmers, to identify the procedures, risks and the possibilities of environmental and human contamination due to the use of pesticides and to verify the use of personal protective equipment when handling them on small properties in the municipality of Juazeiro do Norte / CE. This is a field study, using the method of analysis by Abreu and Alonzo (2016), which was based on the application of semi-structured interviews. The study was applied to a municipal loan. The Vila São Gonçalo lending consists of thirty-six farmers. Eighteen family farmers participated in this study, comprising a sample of 50% of the whole. Through the results of the study, it was found that few measures for the control of rural work safety are applied by the family farmers in the study, due to the lack of information on the risks, low education, perpetuation of old farming practices, financial question, feeling of immunity to danger and the lack of assistance from public policies aimed at rural workers, who are exposed to risks that are harmful to the environment and their health. Thus, it is necessary to implement safety control measures in the stages of agricultural production, to reduce the susceptible threats to the safety of the environment and the health of the small rural producer.